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Book— 
































ARCHEOLOGICAL EXPEDITION 


TO 


A E 1 Z O N A 


IN' 


1 8 9 5 


KY \ 


JESSE WALTER FEWKES 


EXTRACT FROM THE SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE 
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 



WASHINGTON 


GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

18 9 9 




ARCHEOLOGICAL EXPEDITION 


TO 


ARIZONA 


18 9 5 


HY 




JESSE WALTER FEWKES 


EXTRACT FROM THE SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL BEPORT^OF THE 
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 





WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

189 9 

y? 




£- 1 * 
Al ^ 




57538 













ARCHEOLOGICAL EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 

BY 

JESSE WALTER FEWKES 


519 






CONTENTS 


Page 

Introductory note. 527 

Plan of the expedition. 529 

Ruins in Verde valley. 536 

Classification of the ruins. 536 

Cavate dwellings. 537 

Montezuma Well. 546 

Clitf houses of the Red-rocks. 548 

Ruins near Schiirmann’s ranch. 550 

Palatki. 553 

Honanki. 558 

Objects found at Palatki and Honanki. 569 

Conclusions regarding the Verde valley ruins. 573 

Ruins in Tusayan. 577 

General features. 577 

The Middle Mesa ruins. 582 

Shunopovi. 582 

Mishoninovi. 582 

Chukubi. 583 

Payupki. 583 

The East Mesa ruins. 585 

Kuchaptiivela and Kisakohi. 585 

Kukiichomo. 586 

Kachinha. 589 

Tukinobi. 589 

Jeditoh valley ruins. 589 

Awatobi. 592 

Characteristics of the ruin. 592 

Nomenclature of Awatobi. 594 

Historical knowledge of Awatobi. 595 

Legend of the destruction of Awatobi. 603 

Evidences of fire in the destruction. 606 

The ruins of the mission. 606 

The kivas of Awatobi. 611 

Old Awatobi. 614 

Rooms of the western mound. 614 

Smaller Awatobi. 617 

Mortuary remains. 617 

Shrines. 619 

Pottery.. 621 

Stone implements. 625 

Bone objects. 627 

Miscellaneous objects. 628 

Ornaments in the form of birds and shells. 628 

Clay hell. 628 

Textile fabrics. 629 

Prayer-sticks—Pigments. 630 

Objects showing Spanish influence. 631 


521 


















































522 CONTENTS [ETH.ANN.17 

Ruins in Tusayan—Continued Page 

The ruins of Sikyatki. 63L 

Traditional knowledge of the pueblo. 631 

Nomenclature. 636 

Former inhabitants of Sikyatki. 636 

General features. 637 

The acropolis. 643 

Modern gardens. 646 

The cemeteries. 646 

Pottery. 650 

Characteristics—Mortuary pottery. 650 

Coiled and indented ware.. 651 

Smooth undecorated ware. 652 

Polished decorated ware. 652 

Paleography of the pottery. 657 

General features. 657 

Human figures. 660 

The human hand. 666 

Quadrupeds. 668 

Reptiles. 671 

Tadpoles. 677 

Butterflies or moths..'1. 678 

Dragon-flies. 680 

Birds. 682 

Y egetal designs. 698 

The sun. 699 

Geometric figures. 701 

Interpretation of the figures. 701 

Crosses. 702 

Terraced figures...^. 703 

The crook. 703 

The germinative symbol. 704 

Broken lines. 704 

Decorations on the exterior of food bowls. 705 

Pigments... 728 

Stone objects. 729 

Obsidian. 732 

Ornaments, necklaces, and gorgets. 733 

Tobacco pipes. 733 

Prayer-sticks. 736 

Marine shells and other objects .. 739 

Perishable contents of mortuary food bowls. 741 











































ILLUSTRATIONS 


Page 

Plate XCIa. Cavate dwellings—Rio Verde. 537 

XCI6. Cavate dwellings—Oak creek. 539 

XCII. Entrances to cavate ruins. 541 

XCIII. Bowlder with pictograplis near Wood’s ranch. 545 

XCIV. Montezuma Well. 547 

XCV. Clift’house, Montezuma Well. 549 

XCVI. Ruin on the brink of Montezuma Well. 551 

XCVII. Pictographs near Cliff ranch, Verde valley. 553 

XCVIII. The Red-rocks; Temple canyon. 555 

XCIX. Palatki (Ruin i). 557 

C. Palatki (Ruin I). 559 

CL Front wall of Palatki (Ruin n). 561 

CII. Honanki (Ruin ii). 563 

CIII. Walls of Honanki. 565 

CIV. Approach to main part of Honanki. 567 

CV. Map of the ruins of Tusayan. 583 

CVI. The ruins of Kiikiichomo. 587 

CVII. Ground plan of Awatobi. 603 

CVIII. Ruins of San Bernardino de Awatobi. 607 

CIX. Excavations in the western mound of Awatobi. 615 

CX. Excavated room in the western mound of Awatobi. 617 

CXI. Vase and mugs from the western mounds of Awatobi. 618 

CXII. Paint pots, vase, and dipper from Awatobi. 620 

CXIII. Pottery from intramural burial at Awatobi. 622 

CXIV. Bone implements from Awatobi and Sikyatki. 626 

CXV. Sikyatki mounds from the Kanelba trail. 637 

CXVI. Ground plan of Sikyatki. 639 

CXVII. Excavated rooms on the acropolis of Sikyatki. 643 

CXVIII. Plan of excavated rooms on the acropolis of Sikyatki. 644 

CXIX. Coiled and indented pottery from Sikyatki. 650 

CXX. Saucers and slipper bowls from Sikyatki. 652 

CXXI. Decorated pottery from Sikyatki. 654 

CXXII. Decorated i>ottery from Sikyatki. 654 

CXXIII. Decorated pottery from Sikyatki. 657 

CXXIV. Decorated pottery from Sikyatki. 660 

CXXV. Flat dippers and medicine box from Sikyatki. 662 

CXXVI. Double-lobe vases from Sikyatki._.. 664 

CXXVII. Unusual forms of vases from Sikyatki . 666 

CXXVIII. Medicine box and pigment pots from Sikyatki. 668 

CXXIX. Designs on food bowls from Sikyatki. 670 

CXXX. Food bowls with figures of quadrupeds from Sikyatki. 672 

CXXXI. Ornamented ladles from Sikyatki. 674 

CXXX1I. Food bowls with figures of reptiles from Sikyatki. 676 

CXXXIII. Bowls and dippers with figures of tadpoles, birds, etc., from 

Sikyatki. 676 

CXXXIV. Food bowls with figures of sun, butterfly, and flower, from 

Sikyatki. 676 


523 
















































524 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


Page 

Plate CXXXV. Vases with figures of butterflies from Sikyatki. 678 

CXXXVI. Vases with figures of birds and feathers from Sikyatki. 678 

CXXXVII. Vessels with figures of human baud, birds, turtle, etc., from 

Sikyatki. 680 

CXXXVIII. Food bowls with figures of birds from 'Sikyatki. 682 

CXXXIX. Food bowls with figures of birds from Sikyatki. 684 

CXL. Figures of birds from Sikyatki. 686 

CXLI. Food bowls with figures of birds and feathers from Sikyatki. 688 

CXL1I. Vases, bowls, and ladle with figures of feathers from Sikyatki. 688 

CXLIII. Vase with figures of birds from Sikyatki. 690 

CXLIV. Vase with figures of birds from Sikyatki. 690 

CXLV. Vases with figures of birds from Sikyatki. 690 

CXLVI. Bowls and potsherd with figures of birds from Sikyatki. 692 

CXLVII. Food bowls with figures of birds from Sikyatki. 692 

CXLVIII. Food bowls with symbols of feathers from Sikyatki. 694 

CXLIX. Food bowls with symbols of feathers from Sikyatki. 694 

CL. Figures of birds and feathers from Sikyatki. 696 

CLI. Figures of birds and feathers from Sikyatki. 696 

CLII. Food bowls with bird, feather, and flower symbols from 

Sikyatki. 698 

CLIII. Food bowls with figures of birds and feathers from Sikyatki. 698 

CLIV. Food bowls with figures of birds and feathers from Sikyatki. 700 

CLV. Food bowls with figures of birds and feathers from Sikyatki. 700 

CLVI. Food bowls with figures of birds and feathers from Sikyatki. 700 

CLVII. Figures of birds and feathers from Sikyatki. 702 

CLVIII. Food bowls with figures of sun and related symbols from 

Sikyatki. 702 

CLIX. Cross and related designs from Sikyatki. 704 

CLX. Cross and other symbols from Sikyatki. 704 

CL'XI. Star, sun, and related symbols from Sikyatki.. 704 

CLXII. Geometric ornamentation from Sikyatki. 706 

CLXIII. Food bowls with geometric ornamentation from Sikyatki_ 708 

CLXIV. Food bowls with geometric ornamentation from Sikyatki.... 710 

CLXV. Food bowls with geometric ornamentation from Sikyatki_ 714 

CLXVI. Linear figures on food bowls from Sikyatki. 718 

CLXVII. Geometric ornamentation from Awatobi. 722 

CLXVIII. Geometric ornamentation from Awatobi. 726 

CLXIX. Arrowshaft smoothers, selenite, and symbolic corn from 

Sikyatki. 728 

CLXX. Corn grinder from Sikyatki. 730 

CLXXI. Stone implements from Palatki, Awatobi, and Sikyatki. 732 

CLXXII. Paint grinder, fetish, lignite, and kaolin disks from Sikyatki.. 734 

CLXXIII. Pipes, bell, clay birds, and shells from Awatobi and Sikyatki.. 736 

CLXXIV. Pahos or prayer-sticks from Sikyatki. 738 

CLXXV. Pahos or prayer-sticks from Sikyatki. 738 

Figure 245. Plan of cavate dwelling on Rio Verde. 540 

* 246. Casa Montezuma on Beaver creek. 552 

247. Ground plan of Palatki (Ruins I and II). 554 

248. Ground plan of Honanki. 559 

249. The main ruin of Honanki. 562 

250. Structure of wall of Honanki. 564 

251. Stone implement from Honanki. 571 

252. Tinder tube from Honanki... 572 

253. Kukiiehomo. 587 

254. Defensive wall on the East Mesa. 588 










































FEWKES] 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


525 


Page 

Figure 255. Ground plan of San Bernardino <le Awatobi.. 608 

256. Structure of house wall of Awatobi. 615 

257. Alosaka shrine at Awatobi. 620 

258. Shrine at Awatobi. 621 

259. Shrine at Awatobi. 621 

260. Shrine at Awatobi. 621 

261. Clay bell from Awatobi. 629 

262. The acropolis of Sikyatki. 644 

263. War god shooting an animal (fragment of food bowl). . 665 

264. Mountain sheep. 669 

265. Mountain lion. 670 

266. Plumed serpent. 672 

267. Unknown reptile. 674 

268. Unknown reptile. 675 

269. Unknown reptile.,. 676 

270. Outline of plate cxxxv, a . 678 

271. Butterfly design on upper surface of plate cxxxv, 6. 679 

272. Man-eagle.,. 683 

273. Pendent feather ornaments on a vase. 690 

274. Upper surface of vase with bird decoration. 691 

275. Kwataka eating an animal. 692 

276. Decoration on the bottom of plate cxlvi, /. 694 

277. Oblique parallel line decoration. 706 

278. Parallel lines fused at one point. 706 

279. Parallel lines with zigzag arrangement. 706 

280. Parallel lines connected by middle bar. 707 

281. Parallel lines of different width; serrate margin. 707 

282. Parallel lines of different width; median serrate. 707 

283. Parallel lines of different width; marginal serrate. 707 

284. Parallel lines and triangles. 708 

285. Line with alternate triangles.... 708 

286. Single line with alternate spurs. 708 

287. Single line with hourglass figures. 708 

288. Single line with triangles. 709 

289. Single line with alternate triangles and ovals. 709 

290. Triangles and quadrilaterals. 709 

291. Triangle with spurs. 709 

292. Rectangle with single line. 709 

293. Double triangle; multiple lines. 710 

294. Double triangle; terraced edges. 710 

295. Single line; closed fret. 710 

296. Single line; open fret. 711 

297. Single line; broken fret. 711 

298. Single line; parts displaced. 711 

299. Open fret; attachment displaced. 711 

300. Simple rectangular design. 711 

301. Rectangular S-form. 712 

302. Rectangular S-form with crooks. 712 

303. Rectangular S-form with triangles. 712 

304. Rectangular S-form with terraced triangles. 712 

305. S-form with interdigitating spurs. 713 

306. Square with rectangles and parallel lines. 713 

307. Rectangles, triangles, stars, and feathers. 713 

308. Crook, feathers, and parallel lines. 713 

309. Crooks and feathers. 714 

























































526 ILLUSTRATIONS [eth.ann. 17 

Page 

Figure 310. Rectangle, triangles, and feathers. 714 

311. Terraced crook, triangle, and feathers. 714 

312. Double key. 715 

313. Triangular terrace. 715 

314. Crook, serrate end. 715 

315. Key pattern; rectangle and triangles. 716 

316. Rectangle and crook. 716 

317. Crook and tail-feathers. 716 

318. Rectangle, triangle, and serrate spurs. 717 

319. W-pattem; terminal crooks. 717 

320. W-pattern; terminal rectangles. 717 

321. W-pattern; terminal terraces and crooks. 718 

322. W-pattern; terminal spurs. 718 

323. W-pattern; bird form. 719 

324. W-pattern; median triangle. 719 

325. Double triangle; two breath feathers. 720 

326. Double triangle; median trapezoid . 720 

327. Double triangle; median rectangle. 720 

328. Double compound triangle; median rectangle. 720 

329. Double triangle; median triangle. 721 

330. Double compound triangle. 721 

331. Double rectangle; median rectangle. 721 

332. Double rectangle; median triangle. 721 

333. Double triangle with crooks. 722 

334. W-shape figure; single line with feathers. 722 

335. Compound rectangles, triangles, and feathers. 722 

336. Double triangles. 722 

337. Double triangles and feathers. 723 

338. Twin triangles. 723 

339. Triangle with terraced appendages. 723 

340. Mosaic pattern. 723 

341. Rectangles, stars, crooks, and parallel lines. 724 

342. Continuous crooks. 724 

343. Rectangular terrace pattern. 724 

344. Terrace pattern with parallel lines. 725 

345. Terrace pattern. 725 

346. Triangular pattern with feathers. 725 

347. S-pattern. 726 

348. Triangular and terrace figures. 726 

349. Crook, terrace, and parallel lines. 726 

350. Triangles, squares, aud terraces. 726 

351. Bifurcated rectangular design. 727 

352. Lines of life and triangles. 727 

353. Infolded triangles.•. 727 

354. Human hand. 728 

355. Animal paw, limb, and triangle. 728 

356. Kaolin disk . 729 

357. Mortuary prayer-stick. 736 


















































ARCHEOLOGICAL EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1805 


By Jesse Walter Fewkes 


INTRODUCTORY NOTE 

About the close of May, 1895, I was invited to make a collection of 
objects for the National Museum, illustrating the archeology of the 
Southwest, especially that phase of pueblo life pertaining to the so- 
called cliff houses. I was specially urged to make as large a collec¬ 
tion as possible, and the choice of locality was generously left to my 
discretion. 

Leaving Washington on the 25th of May, I obtained a collection and 
returned with it to that city on the 15th of September, having spent 
three months in the field. The material brought back by the expedition 
was catalogued under 966 entries, numbering somewhat over a thousand 
specimens. The majority of these objects are fine examples of mor¬ 
tuary pottery of excellent character, fully 500 of which are decorated. 

I was particularly fortunate in my scientific collaborators. Mr F. W. 
Hodge, of the Bureau of American Ethnology, joined me at Sikyatki, 
and remained with the expedition until it disbanded, at the close of 
August. Much of my success in the work at that ruin was due to his 
advice and aid. He was constantly at the excavations, and the major¬ 
ity of the beautiful specimens were taken out of the graves by him. It 
is with the greatest pleasure that I am permitted to express my appre¬ 
ciation of his assistance in my archeological investigations at Sikyatki. 
Mr G. P. Winship, now librarian of the John Carter Brown Library at 
Providence, visited our camp at the ruin mentioned, and remained with 
us a few weeks, rendering important aid and adding an enthusiastic 
student to our number. Mr James S. Judd was a volunteer assistant 
while we were at Sikyatki, aiding me in many ways, especially in the 
management of our camp. I need only to refer to the beautiful draw¬ 
ings which accompany this memoir to show how much I am indebted to 
Mrs Hodge for faithful colored figures of the remarkable pottery uncov¬ 
ered from the Tusayan sands. My party included Mr S. Goddard, of 
Prescott, Arizona, who served as cook and driver, and Mr Erwin Baer, 
of the same city, as photographer. The manual work at the ruins was 
done by a number of young Indians from the East Mesa, who very prop¬ 
erly were employed on the Moki reservation. An all too prevalent and 

527 


l_ *f C. 




528 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


often unjust criticism that Indians will not work if paid for their labor, 
was not voiced by any of our party. They gave many a weary hour’s 
labor in the hot sun, in their enthusiasm to make the collection as large 
as possible. 

'On my return to Washington I was invited to prepare a preliminary 
account of my work in the field, which the Secretary of the Smithson¬ 
ian Institution did me the honor to publish in his report for 1895. This 
report was of a very general character, and from necessity limited in 
pages; consequently it presented only the more salient features of my 
explorations. 

The following account was prepared as a more exhaustive discussion 
of the results of my summer’s work. The memoir is much more ex¬ 
tended than I had expected to make it when I accepted the invitation 
to collect archeological objects for the Museum, and betrays, I’fear, im¬ 
perfections due to the limited time spent in the field. The main object 
of the expedition was a collection of specimens, the majority of which, 
now on exhibition in the National Museum, tell their own story regard¬ 
ing its success. 

I am under deep obligations to the officers of the Smithsonian Insti¬ 
tution, the National Museum, and the Bureau of American Ethnology 
for many kindnesses, and wish especially to express my thanks to Mr 
S. P. Langley, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, for the oppor¬ 
tunity to study the ancient ruins of Tusayan. Nothing had a greater 
influence on my final decision to abandon other congenial work and 
undertake this, than my profound respect for the late Hr G. Brown 
Goode, who suggested the expedition to me and urged me to plan and 
undertake it. 

Jesse Walter Fewkes. 

Washington, May, 1897. 


PLAN OF THE EXPEDITION 


It seemed to me in making apian for archeological field work in 1895, 
that the prehistoric cliff houses, cave dwellings, and ruined pueblos of 
Arizona afforded valuable opportunities for research, and past experi¬ 
ence induced me to turn my steps more especially to the northern and 
northeastern parts of the territory. 1 The ruins of ancient habitations 
in these regions had been partially, and, I believe, unsatisfactorily 
explored, especially those in a limited area called Tusayan, now inhab¬ 
ited by the Moki or Hopi Indians. These agricultural people claim to 
be descendants of those wlio once lived in the now deserted villages of 
that province. 

I had some knowledge of the ethnology of the Hopi, derived from 
several summers’ field work among them, and I believed this informa¬ 
tion could be successfully utilized in an attempt to solve certain arche¬ 
ological questions which presented themselves. 2 I cTesired, among other 
things, to obtain new information on the former extension, in one direc¬ 
tion, of the ancestral abodes of certain clans of the sedentary people of 
Tusayan which are now limited to six pueblos in the northeastern part 
of the territory. In carrying out this general plan I made an exami¬ 
nation of cliff dwellings and other ruins in Verde valley, and under¬ 
took an exploration of two old pueblos near the Hopi villages. The 
reason which determined my choice of the former as a field for investi¬ 
gation was a wish to obtain archeological data bearing on certain Tusa¬ 
yan traditions. It is claimed by the traditionists of Walpi, especially 
those of the Patki 3 or Water house phratry, that their ancestors came 
from a land far to the south of Tusayan, to which they give the name 
Palatkwabi. The situation of this mythic place is a matter of consid¬ 
erable conjecture, but it was thought that an archeological examination 
of the country at or near the headwaters of the Rio Verde and its 
tributaries might shed light on this tradition. 

It is not claimed, however, that all the ancestors of the Tusayan 


'See “The Prehistoric Culture of Tusayan,” American Anthropologist , May, 1896. “Two Ruins 
Recently Discovered in the Red Rock Country, Arizona,” ibid., August, 1896. “ The Clift’ Villages of 
the Red Rock Country, and the Tusayan Ruins, Sikyatki and Awatobi, Arizona,” Smithsonian Report 
for 1895. 

2 The reader's attention is called to the fact that this report is not intended to cover all the ruins 
in the section of Arizona through which the expedition passed; it is simply a description of those 
which were examined, with a brief mention of such others as would aid in a general comprehension 
of the subject. The ruins on the Little Colorado, near Winslow, Arizona, will be considered in a 
monograph to follow the present, which will be a report on the field work in 1896. If a series of 
monographs somewhat of this nature, hut more comprehensive, recording explorations during many 
years in several different sections, were available, we would have sufficient material for a comprehen¬ 
sive treatment of southwestern archeology. 

3 It may be borne in mind that several other clans besides the Patki claim to have lived long ago 
in the region southward from modern Tusayan. Among these may be mentioned the Patun (Squash) 
and the Tawa (Sun) people who played an important part in the early colonization of Middle Mesa. 

17 ETH, PT 2-5 529 






530 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


people migrated from the south, nor do I believe that those who came 
from that direction necessarily passed through Yerde valley. Some, no 
doubt, came from Tonto Basin, but I believe it can be shown that a con¬ 
tinuous line of ruins, similar in details of architecture, extend along 
this river from its junction with Salt river to well-established prehis¬ 
toric dwelling places of the Hopi people. Similar lines may likewise 
be traced along other northern tributaries of the Salt or the Gila, which 
may be found to indicate early migration stages. 

The ruins of Yerde valley were discovered in 1854 by Antoine Leroux, 
a celebrated guide and trapper of his time, and were thus described 
by Whipple, Ewbank, and Turner in the following year: 

The river banks were covered with ruins of stone houses and regular fortifications; 
which, he [Leroux] says, appeared to have been the work of civilized men, but had 
not been occupied for centuries. They were built upon the most fertile tracts of the 
valley, where were signs of acequias and of cultivation. The walls were of solid 
masonry, of rectangular form, some twenty or thirty paces in length, and yet remain¬ 
ing ten or fifteen feet in height. The buildings were of two stories, with small aper¬ 
tures or loopholes for defence when besieged. ... In other respects, however, 
Leroux says that they reminded him of the great pueblos of the Moquinos. 1 

A fragment of folklore, which is widely distributed among both the 
aboriginal peoples of Gila valley and the modern Tusayau Indians, 
recounts how the latter were at one time in communication with the 
people of the south, and traditions of both distinctly connect the sed¬ 
entary people of Tusayau with those who formerly inhabited the great 
pueblos, now in ruins, dotting the plain in the delta between Gila and 
Salt rivers. That archeology might give valuable information on this 
question had long been my conviction, and was the main influence 
which led me fo the studies recorded in the following pages. 

An examination of a map of Arizona will show Mi at one of the 
pathways or feasible routes of travel possible to have been used in 
any connection between the pueblos of the Gila and those of northern 
Arizona would naturally be along llio Yerde valley. Its tributaries 
rise at the foot of San Francisco mountains, and the main river empties 
into the Salt, traversing from north to south a comparatively fertile 
valley, in the main advantageous for the subsistence of semisedentary 
bands in their migrations. Here was a natural highway leading from 
the Gila pueblos, now in ruins, to the former villages in the north. 

The study of the archeology of Verde valley had gone far enough 
to show that the banks of the river were formerly the sites of many 
and populous pueblos, while the neighboring mesas from one end to 
another are riddled with cavate dwellings or crowned with stone budd¬ 
ings. Northward from that famous crater-like depression in the Yerde 
region, the so-called Montezuma Well on Beaver creek, one of the 
affluents of the Bio Yerde, little archeological exploration had been 

■Report upon the Indian Tribes, Pacific Railroad Survey, vol. Ill, pt. iii, p. 14, Washington, 1856. 
The cavate dwellings of the Rio Verde were first described by Dr E. A. Mearns. Although it has 
sometimes been supposed that Coronado followed the trail along Verde valley, and then over the 
Mogolloues to Rio Colorado Chiquito, Eandelier has conclusively shown a more easterly route. 



FEWKES] 


SOUTHERN ORIGIN OF HOPI CLANS 


531 


attempted. There was, in other words, a break in the almost continuous 
series of ruins from Tusayan as far south as the Gila. Ruined towns 
had been reported as existing not far southward from San Francisco 
mountains, 1 and from there by easy stages the abodes of a former race 
had been detected at intervals all the way to the Tusayan pueblos. 
At either end the chain of ruins between the Tusayan towns and the 
Gila ruins was unbroken, but middle links were wanting. All condi 
tions imply former habitations in this untrodden hiatus, the region 
between the Verde and the Tusayan series, ending near the present 
town of Flagstaff, Arizona; but southward from that town the country 
was broken and impassable, a land where the foot of the archeologist 
had not trodden. Remains of human habitations had, however, been 
reported by ranchmen, but these reports were vague and unsatisfac¬ 
tory. So far as they went they continued my suspicions, and there 
were other significant facts looking the same way. The color of the 
red cliff's fulfilled the Tusayan tradition of Palatkwabi, or their former 
home in the far south. Led by all these considerations, before I took to 
the field I had long been convinced that this must have been one of the 
homes of certain Hopi claus, and when the occasion presented itself I 
determined to follow the northward extension of the ancient people of 
the Verde into these rugged rocks. By my discoveries in this region 
of ruins indicative of dwellings of great size in ancient times I have 
supplied the missing links in the chain of ancient dwellings extending 
from the great towns of the Gila to the ruins west of the modern 
Tusayan towns. If this line of ruins, continuous from Gila valley to 
Tusayan and beyond, be taken in connection with legends ascribing 
Casa Grande to the Hopi and those of certain Tusayan clans which 
tell of the homes of their ancestors in the south, a plausible explana¬ 
tion is offered for the many similarities between two apparently widely 
different peoples, and the theory of a kinship between southern and 
northern sedentary tribes of Arizona does not seem as unlikely as it 
might otherwise appear. 

The reader will notice that I accept without question the belief that 
the so-called cliff' dwellers were not a distinct people, but a specially 
adaptive condition of life of a race whose place of habitation was deter¬ 
mined by its environment. We are considering a people who some¬ 
times built dwellings in caverns and sometimes in the plains, but often 
in both places at the same epoch. Moreover, as long ago pointed out 
by other studeuts, the existing Pueblo Indians are descendants of a 
people who at times lived in cliff's, and some of the Tusayan clans have 
inhabited true clift'houses in the historic period. By intermarriage with 
nomadic races and from other causes the character of Pueblo consan¬ 
guinity is no doubt somewhat different from that of their ancient kin, 
but the character of the culture, as shown by a comparison of cliff- 
house and modern objects, has not greatly changed. 


’See mention of cliff houses in Walnutcanyon in the Fifth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology. 




532 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[eth. axn. 17 


While recognizing the kinship of the Pueblos and the Clift - villagers, 
this resemblance is not restricted to any one pueblo or group of modern 
pueblos to the exclusion of others. Of all modern differentiations of 
this ancient substratum of culture of which cliff villages are one adap¬ 
tive expression, the Tusayan Indians are the nearest of all existing peo¬ 
ple of the Southwest 1 to the ancient people of Arizona. 

The more southerly ruins of Tusayan, which I have been able satis¬ 
factorily to identify and to designate by a Hopi name, are those called 
Homolobi, situated not far from Winslow, Arizona, near where the 
railroad crosses the Little Colorado. These ruins are claimed by the 
Hopi as the former residences of their ancestors, and were halting 
places in the migration of certain clans from the south. They were 
examined by Mr Cosmos Miudeleff, of the Bureau of American Eth¬ 
nology, in 1893, 2 but no report on them has yet been published. 

While, however, the Homolobi group of ruins is the most southerly to 
which I have been able to affix a Hopi name, others still more to the 
southward are claimed by certain of their traditions. 3 The Hopi like¬ 
wise regard as homes of their ancestors certain habitations, now in 
ruins, near San Francisco mountains. In a report on his exploration 
of Zuni and Little Colorado rivers in 1852, Captain L. Sitgreaves called 
attention to several interesting ruins, one of which was not far from the 
“cascades” of the latter river. After ascending the plateau, which he 
found covered with volcanic detritus, he discovered that “all the promi¬ 
nent points” were “occupied by the ruins of stone houses, which were 
in some instances three stories in height. They are evidently,” he says, 
“the remains of a large town, as they occurred at intervals for an 
extent of eight or nine miles, and the grouud was thickly strewn with 
fragments of pottery in all directions.” 

In 1884 a portion of Colonel James Stevenson’s expedition, under 
F. D. Bickford, examined the cliff houses in Walnut canyon, and in 
188G Major J. W. Powell and Colonel Stevenson found scattered ruins 
north of San Francisco mountains having one, two, or three rooms, 
each “built of basaltic cinders and blocks of lava.” These explorers 
likewise reported ruins of extensive dwellings in the same region 

■The kinship of Cliff dwellers and Pueblos was long ago recognized by ethnologists, both from 
resemblances of skulls, the character of architecture, and archeological objects found in each class 
of dwellings. It is only in later years, however, that the argument from similar ceremonial para¬ 
phernalia has been adduced, owing to an increase of our knowledge of this side of Pueblo life. See 
Bessels, Bull. IT. S. Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories, vol. n, 1876; .Hoffman, 
Beport on Chaco Cranium, ibid.. 1877, p.457. Holmes, in 1878, says: “ The ancient peoples of the San 
Juan country were doubtless the ancestors of the present Pueblo tribes of New Mexico and Ari¬ 
zona.” See, likewise, Cushing, Nordenskiold, and later writers regarding the kinship of Cliff villagers 
and Pueblos. 

■Beport of the Director of the Bureau of American Ethnology for the year ending June 30, 1894; 
Smithsonian Report, 1894. 

■‘The ruins in Chaves Pass, 110 miles south of Oraibi, will be considered in the report of the expedi¬ 
tion of 1896, when extensive excavations were made at this point. About midway between the 
Chaves Pass ruins and those of Beavercreek, in Verde valley, there are other ruins, as at Rattlesnake 
Tanks, and as a well-marked trail passes by these former habitations and connects the Verde series 
with those of Chaves Pass, it is possible that early migrations may have followed thisoourse. There 
is also a trail from Homolobi and the Colorado Chiquito ruins through Chaves Pass into Tonto Basin. 




FEVVKES] 


RUINS NEAR SAN FRANCISCO MOUNTAINS 


533 


made of sandstone and limestone. At about 25 miles north of the 
mountains mentioned they discovered a small volcanic cone of cinders 
and basalt, which was formerly the site of a village or pueblo built 
around a crater, and estimated that this little pueblo contained 60 or 
70 rooms, with a plaza occupying one-third of an acre of surface. 1 

Twelve miles eastward from San Francisco mountains they found 
another cinder cone resembling a dome, and on its southern slope, in 
a coherent cinder mass, were many chambers, of which one hundred 
and fifty are said to have been excavated. They mention the existence 
on the summit of this cone of a plaza inclosed by a rude wall of vol¬ 
canic cinders, with a carefully leveled floor. The former inhabitants of 
these rooms apparently lived in underground chambers hewn from the 
volcanic formation. Eighteen miles farther eastward was another 
ruined village built about the crater of a volcanic cone. Several vil¬ 
lages were discovered iu this locality and many natural caves which 
had been utilized as dwellings by inclosing them in front with walls of 
volcanic rocks and cinders. These cavate rooms were arranged tier 
above tier in a very irregular way. 

At this place three distinct kinds of ruins were found—cliff villages, 
cave dwellings, and pueblos. Eight miles southeastward from Flag¬ 
staff, in Oak creek canyon, a cliff house of several hundred rooms was 
discovered. It was concluded that all these ruins were abandoned 
at a comparatively recent date, or not more than three or four centuries 
ago, and the Havasupai Indians of Cataract canyon were regarded as 
descendants of the former inhabitants of these villages. The situa¬ 
tion of some of these ruins and the published descriptions would 
indicate that some of them were similar to those described and figured 
by Sitgreaves, 2 to which reference has already been made. 

In 1896 two amateur explorers, George Campbell and Everett Howell, 
of Flagstaff, reported that they had found, about eighteen miles from 
that place, several well-preserved cliff towns and a remarkable tunnel 
excavation. The whole region in the immediate neighborhood of San 
Francisco mountains appears, therefore, to have been populated in 
ancient times by an agricultural peopW, and legends ascribe seme of 
these ruins to ancestors of the Hopi Indians. 

There are several ruins due south of Tusayau which have not been 
investigated, but which would furnish important contributions to a 
study of Hopi migrations. Near Saint Johns, Arizona, likewise, there 
are ruins of considerable size, possibly referable to the Cibolan series; 
and south of Holbrook, which lies about due south of Walpi, there are 
ruins, the pottery from which I have examined and found to be of the 
black-and-white ware typical of the Cliff people. Perhaps, however, 
no ruined pueblo presents more interesting problems than the magnifi¬ 
cent Pueblo Grande or Kintiel, about 20 miles north of Navaho Springs. 


'Smithsonian Report, 1883; Report of Major Powell, Director of the Bureau of Ethnology, p. 57 et 
seq. Explorations in the Southwest, ibid., 1886, p. 52 et seq. 

2 Report of an Expedition down the Zufli and Colorado rivers; Washington, 1853. 



534 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


This large ruin, lying between the Cibolan and Tusayan groups, has 
been referred to both of these provinces, and would, if properly exca¬ 
vated, shed much light on the archeology of the two provinces. 1 Kinna- 
zinde lies not far from Kintiel. 

The ruins reported from Tonto Basin, of which little is known, may 
later be found to be connected with early migrations of those Hopi 
clans which claim southern origin. From what I can judge by the 
present appearance of ruins just north of the Mogollou mountains, in a 
direct line between Tonto Basin and the present Tusayan towns, there 
is nothing to show the age of these ruined villages, and it is quite 
likely that they may have been inhabited in the middle of the sixteenth 
century. While it is commonly agreed that the province of “Totou- 
teac,” which figures extensively in certain early Spanish narratives, 
was the same as Tusayan, the linguistic'similarity of the word to “ tonto” 
has been suggested by others. In the troublesome years between 1800 
and 1870 the Hopi, decimated by disease and harried by nomads, sent 
delegates to Prescott asking to be removed to Tonto Basin, and it is 
not improbable that in making this reasonable request they simply 
wished to return to a place which they associated with their ancestors, 
who had been driven out by the Apache. Totonteac 2 is ordinarily 
thought to be the same as Tusayan, but it may have included some of 
the southern pueblos now in ruins west of Zufii. 

Having determined that the line of Verde ruins was continued into 
the Bed-rock country, it was desirable to see how the latter compared 
with those nearer Tusayan. This necessitated reexamination of many 
ruins in Verde valley, which was my aim during the most of June. I 
followed this valley from the cavate dwellings near Squaw mountain 
past the great ruin in the neighborhood of Old Camp Verde, the unique 
Montezuma Well, to the base of the Bed-rocks. Throughout this region 
I saw, as had been expected, no change in the character of the ruins 
great enough to indicate that they originally were inhabited by peoples 
racially different. Stopped from further advance by a barrier of rug¬ 
ged cliffs, I turned westward along their base until I found similar 
ruins, which were named Pafatki and Honanki. Having satisfied 
myself that there was good evidence that the numbers of ancient 

Smithsonian Report, 1883, Report of the Director of the Bureau of Ethnology, p. 62: “Pending 
the arrival of goods at Moki, Mr Cashing returned across the country to Zuhi for the purpose of 
observing more minutely than on former occasions the annual sun ceremonials. En route he discov¬ 
ered two ruins, apparently before unvisited. One of these was the outlying structure of K‘n'-i-K'61, 
called by the Navajos Zinni-jin'ne and by the Zunis Ile'-sko'ta pathl-t&Ie, both, according to Zunitra¬ 
dition, belonging to the Thl6-e-tii-kwe, the name given to the traditional northwestern migration 
ot the Bear, Crane, Frog, Deer, Yellow-wood, and other gentes of the ancestral pueblos.” 

5 The reduplicated syllable recalls Hopi methods of forming their plural, but is not characteristic of 
them, and the w ord Totonteac has a Hopi sound. The supposed derivation of Tonto from Spanish 
tonto , “fool, is mentioned elsewhere. The so-called Tonto Apache was probably an intruder, the 
causeof the desertion of the “basin" by the housebuilders. The question whether Totonteac is the 
same as Tusaj'an or 1 uchano is yet to be satisfactorily answered. The map makers of the sixteenth 
century regarded them as different places, aud notwithstanding Totonteac was reported to be “a liotte 
lake in the middle of the previous century, it held its placo on maps into the seventeenth century. 
It is always on or near a river flow ing into the Gulf of California. 




FEWKES] 


AWATOBI AND SIKYATKI 


535 


people were as great here as at any point in the Verde valley and that 
tlieir culture was similar, I continued tlie work with an examination of 
the ruins north of the Bed-rocks, where there is substantial evidence 
that these were likewise of the same general character. 

The last two months of the summer, July and August, 1895, were 
devoted to explorations of two Tusayan ruins, called Awatobi and 
Sikyatki. In this work, apparently unconnected with that already 
outlined, I still had in mind the light to be shed on the problem of 
Tusayan origin. The question which presented itself was: How are 
these ruins related to the modern pueblos? Awatobi was a historic 
ruin, destroyed in 1700, and therefore somewhat influenced by the 
Spaniards. Many of the survivors became amalgamated with pueblos 
still inhabited. Its kinship with the surviving villagers was clear. 
Sikyatki, however, was overthrown in prehistoric times, and at its 
destruction part of its people went to Awatobi. Its culture was pre¬ 
historic. The discovery of what these two ruins teach, by bringing 
prehistoric Tusayan culture down to the present time and comparing 
them with the ruins of Verde valley aud southern Arizona, is of great 
archeological interest. 

While engaged in preparing this report, having in fact written most 
of it, I received Mr Cosmos Miudeleff’s valuable article on the Verde 
ruins, 1 in which special attention is given to the cavate lodges and 
villages of this interesting valley. This contribution anticipates many 
of my observations on these two groups of aboriginal habitations, and 
renders it unnecessary to describe them in the detailed manner I had 
planned. I shall therefore touch but briefly on these ruins, paying 
special attention to the cliff houses of Verde valley, situated in the 
Ked-rock country. This variety of dwelling was overlooked in both 
Mearns’ and Mindelefif’s classifications, from the fact that it seems to 
be confined to the region of the valley characterized by the red-rock 
formation, which appears not to have been explored by them. The 
close resemblance of these cliff houses to those of the region north of 
Tusayan is instructive, in view of the ground, well taken, I believe, 
by Mr Mindeleff, that there is a close likeness between the Verde ruins 
and those farther north, especially in Tusayan. 


1 Thirteenth Annual Keport of the Bureau of Ethnology, 




RUINS IN VERDE VALLEY 


Classification of the Ruins 


The ruined habitations in the valley of the Rio Verde may be consid¬ 
ered under three divisions or types, differing in form, but essentially 
the same in character. In adopting this classification, which is by no 
means restricted to this single valley, I do not claim originality, but 
follow that used by the best writers on this subject. My limitation 
of the types and general definitions may, however, be found to differ 
somewhat from those of my predecessors. 

The three groups of ruins in our Southwest are the following: 
i—Pueblos, or Independent habitations, 
ii—Cliff Houses "I , , . 

m-Cavate Dwellings j De >’ eildent ^tet-ons. 

In the first group are placed those ancient or modern habitations 
which are isolated, on all sides, from cliffs. They may be situated in 
valleys or on elevations or mesas; they may be constructed of clay, 
adobe, or stoue of various kinds, but are always isolated from cliffs. 
They are single or multiple chambered, circular or rectangular in 
shape, and may have been built either as permanent habitations or as 
temporary outlooks. Their main feature is freedom, on all sides except 
the foundation, from cliffs or walls of rock in place. 

The second group includes those not isolated from natural cliff's, but 
with some part of their lateral walls formed by natural rock in situ, 
and are built ordinarily in caverns with overhanging roofs, which the 
highest courses of their walls do not join. Generally erected in caves, 
their front walls never close the entrances to those caverns. This kind 
of aboriginal buildings may, like the former, vary in structural mate¬ 
rial ; but, so far as I know, they are not, for obvious reasons, made of 
adobe alone. 

The third kind of pueblo dwellings are called cavate dwellings or 
lodges, a group which includes that peculiar kind of aboriginal dwell¬ 
ing where the rooms are excavated from the cliff' wall, forming caves, 
where natural rock is a support or more often serves as the wall itself 
of the dwelling. The entrance may be partially closed by masonry, 
the floor laid with flat stones, and the sides plastered with clay; but 
never in this group is there a roof distinct from the top of the cave. 

Naturally cavate dwellings grade into cliff' houses, but neither of 
these types can be confounded with the first group, which affords us 
no difficulty in identification. All these kinds of dwellings were made 
by people of the same culture, the character of the habitation depend¬ 
ing on geological environment. 

536 






BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. XCI a 


i 



■met 


CAVATE DWELLINGS—RIO VERDE 






















FEWKES] 


TYPES OF VERDE VALLEY RUINS 


537 


Iii Verde valley, villages, cliff houses, and cavate dwellings exist 
together, and were, I believe, contemporaneously inhabited by a people 
of the same culture. 

These types of ancient habitations are not believed to stand in the 
relationship of sequence in development; nor is one simpler or less 
difficult of construction than the others. Cliff houses display no less 
skill and daring than do the villages in the plain, called pueblos. The 
cavate dwellings are likewise a form of habitation which shows consid¬ 
erable workmanship, and are far from caves like those inhabited by 
“cave men.” These dwellings were laboriously excavated with rude 
implements; had tloors, banquettes, windows, walled recesses, and the 
like. It is hardly proper to regard them as less difficult to construct 
than pueblos or cliff houses. 

Cavate dwellings, like villages or cliff houses, may be single or mul¬ 
tiple, single or many chambered, and a cluster of these troglodytic 
dwellings was, in fact, as truly a village as a pueblo or cliff house. 
The same principle of seeking safety by crowding together held in all 
three instances; and this very naturally, for the culture of the inhabi¬ 
tants was identical. I shall consider only two of the three types of 
dwellings in Verde valley, namely, the second and third groups. 

It has, I think, been conclusively shown by Mr Cosmos Mindeleff, so 
far as types of the first group of ruins on the Verde are concerned, 
that they practically do not differ from the modern Tusayan pueblos. 
The remaining types, when rightly interpreted, furnish evidence of 
no less important character. Notwithstanding Mindeleff's excellent 
descriptions of the cavate dwellings of this region, already cited, 1 
have thought it well to bring into prominence certain features which 
seem to me to indicate that this form of aboriginal dwelling was high 
in its development, showing considerable skill in its construction, and 
was fashioned on the same general plan as the others. For this demon¬ 
stration I have chosen one of the most striking clusters in Verde valley. 

Cavate Dwellings 

The most accessible cavate dwellings in Verde valley (plate xci a) are 
situated on the left bank of the river, about eight miles southward from 
Camp Verde and three miles from the mouth of Clear creek. The 
general characteristics of this group have been well described by Mr 
Mindeleff' in the Thirteenth Annual Report of the Bureau, so that I 
need but refer to a few additional observations made on these interest¬ 
ing habitations. 1 

These cavate lodges afford a fair idea of the best known of these 
prehistoric dwellings in this part of Arizona. Although Verde valley 

1 Mr Mindeleff’s descriptions deal with the same cluster of cavate ruins here described, but are 
more specially devoted to the more southern section of them, not considering, if I understand him, 
the northern row hero described. I had also made extensive studies of the rooms figured by him 
previously to the publication of his article, but as my notes on these rooms are anticipated by his 
excellent memoir I have not considered the rooms described by him, hut limited my account to brief 
mention of a neighboring row of chambers not described in his report. 




538 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


lias many fine randies, the land in immediate proximity to these ruins 
is uncultivated. The nearest habitation, however, is not far away, and 
it is not difficult to find guides to these caves, so well known are they 
to the inhabitants of this part of the valley. It did not take long to 
learn that any investigations which I might attempt there had been 
anticipated by other archeologists and laymen, for many of the rooms 
had been rifled of their contents and their walls thrown down, while it 
was also evident that some careful excavations had been made. 

There is, however, abundant opportunity for more detailed scientific 
work than has yet been attempted on these ruins, and what has thus 
far been accomplished lias been more in the nature of reconnoissance. 
The cemeteries and burial places of the prehistoric people of the cavate 
dwellings are yet to be discovered, and it is probable, judging from 
experience gained at other ruins, that when they are found and care¬ 
fully investigated much light will be thrown on the character of 
ancient cave life. 

Tlie entrances to the cavate dwellings opposite Squaw mountain are 
visible from the road for quite a distance, appearing as rows of holes 
in the steep walls of the cliff ou the opposite or left bank of the Rio 
Yerde. Owing to their proximity to the river, from which the preci¬ 
pice in which they are situated rises almost vertically, we were unable 
to camp under them, but remained on the right bank of the river, 
where a level plain extends for some distance, bordering the river and 
stretching back to the distant cliffs. We pitched our camp on a bluff, 
about 30 feet above the river, in full sight of the cave entrances, near 
a small stone inclosure which bears quite a close resemblance to a 
Tusayan shrine. 

Aboriginal people had evidently cultivated the plain where we 
camped, for there are many evidences of irrigating ditches and even 
walls of former houses. At present, however, this once highly culti¬ 
vated field lies unused, and is destitute of any valuable plants save 
the scanty grass which served to eke out the fodder of our horses. 

At the time of my visit the water of Rio Verde at this point was con¬ 
fined to a very narrow channel under the bluff near its right bank, but 
the appearance of its bed showed that in heavy freshets during the 
rainy season the water filled the interval between the base of the cliffs 
in which the cavate dwellings are situated and the bluffs which form 
the right bank. 

In visits to the caves it was necessary, on account of the site of the 
camp, to ford the stream each time and to climb to their level over 
fallen stones, a task of no slight difficulty. The water in places was 
shallow and the current only moderately rapid. Considering the fact 
that it furnished potable liquid for ourselves and horses, and that the 
line of trees which skirted the bluff was available for firewood, our 
cam]) compared well with many which we subsequently made in our 
summer’s explorations. 









BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. XCI 



CAVATE DWELLINGS-OAK CREEK 
















FEWKES] 


CAYATE DWELLINGS IN VERDE VALLEY 


539 


The section of the cliff which was examined embraced tne northern 
series of these caves, extending from a promontory forming one side of 
a blind or box canyon to nearly opposite our camp. Adjacent to this 
series of rooms, but farther down the river, on the same side, there 
are two narrow side canyons, in both of which are also numerous 
caves, in all respects similar to the series we chose for examination. 
At several points on the summit of the cliffs, above the caves, large 
rectangular ruins, with fallen walls, were discovered; these ruins are, 
however, in no respect peculiar, but closely resemble those ordinarily 
found in a similar position throughout this region and elsewhere in 
Arizona and New Mexico. From their proximity to the caves it would 
seem that the cavate dwellings, and the pueblos on the summits of the 
mesas in which they are found, had been inhabited by one people; 
but better evidence that such is true is drawn from the character of 
the architecture and the nature of the art remains common to both. 

Let us first consider the series of caves from a point opposite our 
camp to the promontory which forms a pinnacle at the mouth of the 
first of the two side caverns—a row of caves the entrances to which 
are shown in the accompanying illustration (plate xcn). I have lettered 
these rooms, as indicated by their entrances, a to i, beginning with the 
opening on the left. 

The rock in which these caves have been hewn is very soft, and 
almost white in color, save for a slightly reddish brown stratum just 
below the line of entrances to the cavate chambers. Although, as a 
general thing, the wall of the cliff is almost perpendicular, and the 
caves at points inaccessible, entrance to the majority of them can be 
effected by mounting the heaps of small stones forming the debris, 
which has fallen even to the bed of the river at various places, and by 
following a ledge which connects the line of entrances. The easiest 
approach mounts a steep decline, not far from the promontory at the 
lower level of the line, which conducts to a ledge running along in 
front of the caves about 150 feet above the bed of the stream. Roughly 
speaking, this ledge is about 100 feet below the summit of the cliff'. It 
was impossible to reach several of the rooms, and it is probable that 
when the caves were inhabited access to any one of them was even 
more difficult thau at present. 

Judging from the number of rooms, the cliffs on the left bank of the 
Verde must have had a considerable population when inhabited. These 
caverns, no doubt, swarmed with human beings, and their inaccessible 
position furnished the inhabitants with a safe refuge from enemies, or 
an advantageous outlook or observation shelter for their fields on the 
opposite side of the stream. The soft rock of which the mesa is formed 
is easily worked, and there are abundant evidences, from the marks of 
tools employed, that the greater part of each cave was pecked out by 
hand. Fragments of wood were very rarely seen in these cliff' dugouts; 
and although there is much adobe plastering, only in a few instances 


540 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


were tlie mouths of the caves walled or a doorway of usual shape 
present. The last room at the southern end, near the promontory at 
the right of the entrance to a side canyon, has walls in front resembling 
those of true cliff houses and pueblos in the Red-rock country farther 
northward, as will be shown in subsequent pages. 

This group of cavate dwellings, while a good example of the cavern 
type of ruins, is so closely associated, both in geographical position and 
in archeological remains, with other types in Verde valley, that we are 
justified in referring them to one and the same people. The number of 



Fig. 245—Plan of cavate dwelling on Rio Verde 


these troglodytic dwelling places on the Verde is very large; indeed the 
mesas may be said to be fairly honeycombed with subterranean habi¬ 
tations. Confined as a general thing to the softer strata of rock, which 
from its character was readily excavated, they lie side by side at the 
same general level, and are entered from a projecting ledge, formed by 
the top of the talus which follows the level of their entrances. 

This ledge is easily accessible in certain places from the river bed, 
where stones have fallen to the base of the cliff; but at most points no 
approach is possible, and in their impregnable position the inhabitants 
could easily defend themselves from hostile peoples. 






















BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. XCII 




ENTRANCES TO CAVATE RUINS 
















FEWKE8] 


PLATFORMS IN CAVATE DWELLINGS 


541 


Whether the rock had recesses in it before the caves were enlarged 
would seem to be answered in the affirmative, for similar caves without 
evidences of habitations were observed. These, however, are as a rule 
small, and wherever available the larger caverns have been appropri¬ 
ated and enlarged by stone implements, as shown by the pecking on 
the walls. The enlargement of these caverns, however, would not be a 
difficult task, for the rock is very soft and easily worked. 

Entering one of these cavate rooms the visitor finds himself in a dark 
chamber, as a rule with side openings or passageways into adjoining 
rooms. Broad lateral banquettes are prominent features in the most 
complicated caves, and there are many recesses and small closets or 
cists. 

The ramifications formed by lateral rooms are often extensive, and 
the chambers communicate with other s so dark that we can hardly 
regard them as once inhabited. In these dimly lighted rooms the walls 
were blackened with smoke, as if from former fires, and in many of the 
largest the position of fireplaces could plainly be discovered. As a 
type of one of the more complicated I have chosen that figured to illus¬ 
trate the arrangement of these cavate dwellings (figure 245). Many are 
smaller, others have more lateral chambers, but one type is character¬ 
istic of all. 

A main room (a, figure 245), or that first entered from outside, is 
roughly rectangular in shape, 12 feet long by 6 feet wide, and about 
6 feet high. The floor, however, was covered with very dry debris 
which had blown in from the exterior or, in some instances, fallen from 
the roof. That part of the floor which was exposed shows that it was 
roughly plastered, sometimes paved or formed of solid rock. 

On three sides of this room there is a step 2 feet high, to platforms, 
three in number, one in the rear and one on each side. These plat¬ 
forms are 5, 6, and 6 feet 6 inches wide, respectively, and of the same 
length as the corresponding sides of the central room. It would appear 
that these platforms are characteristic architectural features of these 
habitations, and we find them reproduced in some of the rooms of 
the cliff houses of the lied-rocks, while Fordenskiold has described 
a kindred feature in the kivas of the Mesa Yerde ruins. A somewhat 
similar elevation of the floor in modern Tusayau kivas forms what may 
be called the spectator’s part, in front of the ladder as one descends, 
and the same feature is common to many older Hopi dwellings. * 1 

> Journal of American Ethnology and Archaeology , vol. II, No. 1. All the Tusayau ldvas with which 

I am familiar have this raised spectator's part at one end. The altars are always erected at the 
opposite end of the room, in which is likewise the hole in the floor called the sipaptl, symbolic of 
the traditional opening through which races emerged to the earth’s surface from an underworld. 
Banquettes exist in some Tusayau kivas; in others, however, they are wanting. The raised plat¬ 
form in dwelling rooms is commonly a sleeping place, above which blankets are hung and, in some 
instances, corn is stored. A small opening in the step often admits light to an otherwise dark granary 
below the floor. In no instance, however, are there more than one such platform, and that com¬ 
monly partakes of the nature of another room, although seldom separated from the other chamber by 
a partition. 






542 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


Beginning with the lateral platforms (-», figure 245) we first note, as 
we step upon it at c , about midway of its length, a .small circular depres¬ 
sion in the floor of the central room extending slightly beneath the 
platform, as indicated by the dotted line. It is possible that this niche 
was a receptacle for important household objects, although it may 
have been a fireplace. 

In a corner of the right platform a round cist, partially hewn out of 
the rock, was found, but its walls («, figure 245) were badly broken down 
by some former explorer. The floor of this recess lies below that of the 
platform, while the cist itself ( d ) reminds one of the closed or walled 
structures, so commonly found in the Verde, attached to the side of the 
clifl. On the lateral wall of this chamber, at about the height of the 
head, a row of small holes had been drilled into the solid wall. These 
holes (d, d, d) are almost too small for the insertion of roof beams, and 
were probably made for pegs on which to rest a beam for hanging 
blankets and other textile fabrics when not in use. The roof of the 
cave was the natural rock, and showed over its whole surface marks of 
a pecking implement. 

The left chamber isG feet G inches broad, and from one corner, oppo¬ 
site the doorway, a low passageway leads into a circular chamber, G feet 
in diameter, with its floor below the platform of the lateral room. 
Between the chamber, on the left of the entrance, and the open air, 
the wall of solid rock is broken by a slit-like crevice, which allows the 
light to enter, and no doubt served as a window. A recess, the floor 
of which is elevated, on a platform opposite the doorway, is 5 feet 
broad, and has a small circular depression in one corner. The floor 
and upraise of this recess is plastered with adobe, which in several 
places is smooth and well made. 

In comparing the remaining cavate dwellings of this series with that 
described, we find every degree of complication in the arrangement of 
rooms, from a simple cave, or irregular hole in the side of the clifl'. to 
squared chambers with lateral rooms. The room J, 1 for instance, is 
rectangular, G feet long by 3 feet wide, with an entrance the same 
width as that of the room itself. 

In room III, however, the external opening is very small, and there is 
a low, narrow ledge, or platform, opposite the doorway. There is like¬ 
wise in this room.a small shelf in the left-hand wall. In IV there is a 
raised platform on two adjaceut sides of the square room, and the 
doorway is an irregular orifice broken through the wall to the open air. 

Boom IV is a subterranean chamber, most of the floor of which is 
littered with large fragments of rock which have fallen from the roof. 
It has numerous small recesses in the wall resembling cubby-holes 
where household utensils of various kinds were undoubtedly formerly 
kept. This room is instructive, in that the entrance is partially closed 

1 Counting from the point of the cliff shown in plate xci a. The positions of the rooms are indicated 
by the row of entrances. 


t 







FEWKESj 


FUNCTION OF CAVATE HOUSES 


543 


by two walls of masonry, wbicb do not join. The stones are laid in 
adobe in which fragments of pottery were detected. These unjoined 
walls leave a doorway which is thus Hanked on each side by stone 
masonry, recalling in every particular the well-known walls of cliff 
houses. Here, in fact, we have so close a resemblance to the masonry 
of true cliff houses that we can hardly doubt that the excavators of 
the cavate dwellings were, in reality, people similar to those who built 
the cliff houses of Verde valley. 

Room YIII is a simple cave hewn out of the rock, with a chamber 
behind it, entered by a pas'age way made of masonry, which partially 
fills a larger opening. The doorway through this masonry is small 
below, but broadens above in much the same manner as some of the 
doorways in Tusayan of today. 

Continuing along the left bank of the river, from the row of cavate 
rooms, just described, on the first mesa, we round a promontory and 
enter a small canyon, 1 which is perforated on each side with numer¬ 
ous other cavate dwellings, large and small, all of the same gen¬ 
eral character as the type described. Here, likewise, are small external 
openings which evidently ■communicated with subterranean chambers, 
but many of them are so elevated that access to them from the floor of 
the canyon or from the cliff above is not possible. A marked feature 
of the whole series is the existence here and there of small, often 
inaccessible, stone cists of masonry plastered to the side of the rocky 
cliff like swallows’ nests. 

All of these cists which are accessible had been opened and plundered 
before my visit, but there yet remain a few which are still intact 
and would repay examination and study. Similar walled up cists are 
likewise found, as we shall see later, in the cliff houses of the Redrock 
country, hence are not confined to the Verde system of ruins. 

Cavate dwellings similar to those here described are reported to exist 
in the canyons of upper Salado, Gila, and Zufii rivers, and we may 
with reason suspect that the distribution 2 of cavate dwellings is as 
wide as that of the pueblos themselves, the sole requisite being a soft 
tufaceous rock, capable of being easily worked by people with stone 
implements. In none of the different regions in which they exist is there 
any probability that these caves were made by people different in cul¬ 
ture from pueblo or cliff dwellers. They are much more likely to have 
been permanent than temporary habitations of the same culture stock 
of Indians who availed themselves of rock shelters wherever the nature 
of the cliff permitted excavation in its walls. 

That the cavate lodges are simple “horticultural outlooks” is an 
important suggestion, but one might question whether they were con 
veniently placed for that purpose. So far as overlooking the opposite 

1 It was from this region that the individual chambers, described by Mindeleff, were chosen. 

2 Mr Mindeleff, in his valuable memoir, has so completely described the cavate dwellings of the 
Eio Grande and San Juan legions that their discussion in this account would be superfluous. 





544 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


plain (whieli had undoubtedly been cultivated in ancient times) is con¬ 
cerned, the position of some of them may be regarded good for that 
purpose, but certainly not so commanding as that of the hill or mesa 
above, where well-marked ruins still exist. 

The position of the cavate dwellings is a disadvantageous one to 
reach any cultivated fields if defenders were necessary. When the 
Tusayan Indian today moves to his kisi or summer brush house shelter 
he practically camps in his corn or near it, in easy reach to drive away 
crows, or build wind-breaks to shelter the tender sprouts; but to go to 
their cornfields the iuhabitants of the cavate dwellings I have described 
were forced to cross a river before the farm was reached. That these 
cavate dwellings were lookouts none can deny, but I incline to a belief 
that this does not tell the whole story if we limit them to such use. 
It is not wholly clear to me that they were not likewise an asylum 
for refuge, possibly not inhabited continuously, but a very welcome 
retreat when the agriculturist was sorely pressed by enemies. Fol¬ 
lowing the analogy of a Hopi custom of building temporary booths 
near their fields, may we not suppose that the former inhabitants of 
Yerde valley may have erected similar shelters in their cornfields 
during summer months, retiring to the cavate dwellings and the mesa 
tops in winter! All available evidence would indicate that the cavate 
dwellings were permanent habitations. 1 

There are several square ruins on top of the mesa above the cavate 
dwellings. The walls of these were massive, but they are now very 
much broken down, and the adobe plastering is so eroded from the 
masonry that I regard them of considerable antiquity. They do not 
differ from other similar ruins, so common elsewhere in New Mexico 
and Arizona, and are identical with others in the Yerde region. I 
visited several of these ruins, but made no excavations in them, nor 
added any new data to our knowledge of this type of aboriginal build¬ 
ings. The pottery picked up on the surface resembles that of the ruins 
of the Little Colorado and Gila. 

The dwellings which I have mentioned above are said 2 to be dupli¬ 
cated at many other points in the watershed of the Yerde, and many 
undescribed ruins of this nature were reported to me by ranchmen. I 
do not regard them as older than the adjacent ruins on the mesa above 
or the plains below them, much less as productions of people of diflereut 
stages of culture, for everything about them suggests contemporaneous 
occupancy. 

From what little I saw of the village sites on the Verde I believe 
that Mindeleff is correct in considering that these ruins represent a 

1 See Mindeleff, Cliff Ruins of Canyon de Chelly, American Anthropologist , April, 1895. The sug¬ 
gestion that cliff outlooks were farming shelters in some instances is doubtless true, but I should 
hesitate giving this use a predominance over outlooks for security. In times of danger, naturally 
the agriculturist seeks a high or commanding position for a wide outlook; but to watch his crops be 
must camp among them. 

2 Ancient Dwellings of the Rio Verde Valley, Dr E. A. Hearns; Popular Science Monthly , vol. 
xxvii. Mindeleff, Aboriginal Remains in Verde Valley; Thirteenth Annual Report of the Bureau 
of Ethnology. 











- 



















* • 
























































BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. XCIII 













FEWKES] 


PICTOGRAPHS 


545 


comparatively late period of pueblo architecture. The character of 
the cliff houses of the lled-rocks shows no very great antiquity of 
occupancy. While it is not possible to give any approximate date 
when they were inhabited, their general appearance indicates that 
they are not more than two centuries old. There is, however, no refer¬ 
ence to them in the early Spanish history of the Southwest. 

Few pictographs were found in the immediate neighborhood of the 
cavate dwellings; indeed the rock in their vicinity is too soft to pre¬ 
serve for any considerable time any great number of these rock etch¬ 
ings. Examples of ancient paleography were, however, discovered a 
short distance higher up the river on malpais rock, which is harder and 
less rapidly eroded. A half-buried bowlder (plate xcm) near Wood’s 
ranch was found to be covered with the well-known spirals with zigzag 
attachments, horned auimals resembling antelopes, growing corn, rain 
clouds, and similar figures. These pictographs occur on a black, super¬ 
ficial layer of lava rock, or upon lighter stone with a malpais layer, 
which had been pecked through, showing a lighter color beneath. 
There is little doubt that many examples of aboriginal pictography 
exist in this neighborhood, which would reward exploration with inter¬ 
esting data. The Verde pictographs can not be distinguished, so far as 
designs are concerned, from many found elsewhere in Colorado, Utah, 
New Mexico, and Arizona 

An instructive pictograph, different from any which I have elsewhere 
seen, was discovered on the upturned side of a bowlder not far from 
Hance’s ranch, near the road from Camp Verde to the cavate dwellings. 
The bowlder upon which they occur lies on top of a low hill, to the left 
of the road, near the river. It consists of a rectangular network of 
lines, with attached key extensions, crooks, and triangles, all pecked 
in the surface. This dmdalus of lines arises from grooves, which 
originate in two small, rounded depressions in the rock, near which 
is depicted the figure of a mountain lion. The whole pictograph is 3J 
feet square, and legible in all its parts. 

The intent of the ancient scribe is not wholly clear, but it has been 
suggested that he sought to represent the nexus of irrigating ditches 
in the plain below. It might have been intended as a chart of the 
neighboring fields of corn, and it is highly suggestive, if we adopt 
either of these explanations or interpretations, that a figure of the 
mountain lion is found near the depressions, which may provisionally 
be regarded as representing ancient reservoirs. Among the Tusayan 
Indians the mountain lion is looked on as a guardian of cultivated 
fields, which he is said to protect, and his stone image is sometimes 
placed there for the same purpose. 

In the vicinity of the pictograph last described other bowlders, of 
which there are many, were found to be covered with smaller rock 
etchings in no respect characteristic, and there is a remnant of an 
ancient shrine a few yards away from the bowlder upon which they 
occur. 

17 ETH, PT 2 -6 



546 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[KTH. ANN. 17 


Montezuma Well 

One of the most interesting sites of ancient habitation in Yerde val¬ 
ley is known as Montezuma Well, and it is remarkable how little atten¬ 
tion has been paid to it by archeologists. 1 Dr Mearns, in his article on 
the ancient dwellings of Verde valley, does not mention the well, and 
Mindeleff simply refers to the brief description by Dr Hoffman in 1877. 
These ruins are worthy of more study than I was able to give them, 
for like many other travelers I remained but a short time in the neigh¬ 
borhood. It is possible, however, that some of my hurried observations 
at this point may be worthy of record. 

Montezuma Well (plate xciv) is an irregular, circular depression, 
closely resembling a volcanic crater, but evidently, as Dr Hoffman well 
points out, due to erosion rather than to volcanic agencies. As one 
approaches it from a neighboring ranch the road ascends a low eleva¬ 
tion, and when on top the visitor finds that the crater occupies the 
whole interior of the hill. The exact dimensions I did not accurately 
determine, but the lougest diameter of the excavation is estimated at 
about 400 feet; its depth possibly 70 feet. On the eastern side this 
depression is separated from Beaver creek by a precipitous wall which 
can not be scaled from that side. At the time of my visit there was con¬ 
siderable water in the “well,” which was reported to be very deep, but 
did not cover the whole bottom. It is possible to descend to the water 
at one point on the eastern side, where a trail leads to the water s edge. 

There appears to be a subterranean waterway under the eastern rim 
of the well, and the water from the spring rushes through this passage 
into Beaver creek. At the time of my visit this outflow was very con¬ 
siderable, and in the rainy season it must be much greater. The well 
is never dry, and is supplied by perennial subterranean springs rather 
i han by surface drainage. 

The geological agency which has been potent in giving the remark¬ 
able crater-like form to Montezuma Well was correctly recognized by 
Dr Hoffman 2 and others as the solvent or erosive power of the spring. 
There is no evidence of volcanic formation in the neighborhood, and 
the surrounding rocks are limestones and sandstones. Yot far from 
Navalio springs there is a similar circular depression, called Jacob’s 
Well, but which was dry when visited by me. This may later be found 
to have been formed in a similar way. At several places in Arizona 
there are foimations of like geological character. 

The walls of Montezuma Well are so nearly perpendicular that descent 
to the edge of the water is difficult save by a single trail which follows 
the detritus to a cave on one side. In this cave, the roof ot which is 

•Since the above lines were written Mr C F. Lummis, who has made many well-known contribu¬ 
tions to the ethnology and archeology of the Pueblo area, has published in Land of Sunshine (Los 
Angeles, 1895), a beautiful photographic illustration and an important description of this unique place. 

’Miscellaneous Ethnographic Observations on Indians inhabiting Nevada, California, and Arizona, 
Xenili Annual Keport of the Hayden Survey, p.478; Washington, 1878. 















































» • 
























































































































FEWKES] 


RUINS IN MONTEZUMA WELL 


547 


not much higher than the water level, there are fragments of masonry, 
as if structures of some kind had formerly been erected in it. I have 
regarded this cave rather as a place of religious rites than of former 
habitation, possibly a place of retreat for ancient priests when praying 
for rain or moisture, or a shrine for the deposit of prayer offerings to 
rain or water gods. 

Several isolated cliff dwellings are built at different levels in the 
sides of the cliffs. One of the best of these is diametrically opposite 
the cave mentioned above, a few feet below the rim of the depression. 
While this house was entered with little difficulty, there were others 
which I did not venture to visit. 

The accompanying illustration (plate xcv) gives an idea of the gen¬ 
eral appearance of one of these cliff houses of Montezuma Well. It is 
built under an overhanging archway of rock in a deep recess, with 
masonry on three sides. The openings are shown, one of which over¬ 
looks the spring; the other is an entrance at one side. The face of 
masonry on the front is not plastered, and if it was formerly rough cast 
the mud has been worn away, leaving the stones exposed. The side 
wall, which has been less exposed to the elements, still retains the plas¬ 
tering, which is likewise found on the inner walls where it is quite 
smooth in places. 

The number of cliff rooms in the walls of the well is small and their 
capacity, if used as dwellings, very limited. There are, however, ruins 
of pueblos of some size on the edge of the well. 

One of the largest of these, shown in the accompanying illustration 
(plate xcvi), is situated on the neck of land separating the well from 
the valley of Beaver creek. This pueblo was rectangular in form, of 
considerable size, built of stones, and although at present almost demol¬ 
ished, shows perfectly the walls of former rooms. Fragments of ancient 
pottery would seem to indicate that the people who once inhabited this 
pueblo were in no respect different from other sedentary occupants of 
Yerde valley. From their housetops they had a wide view over the 
creek on one side and the spring on the other, defending, by the site of 
their village, the one trail by which descent to the well was possible. 

The remarkable geological character of Montezuma Well, and the 
spring within it, would have profoundly impressed itself on the folklore 
of any people of agricultural bent who lived in its neighborhood after- 
emigrating to more arid lands. About a month after my visit to this 
remarkable spring I described the place to some of the old priests at 
Walpi and showed them sketches of the ruins. These priests seemed 
to have legendary knowledge of a place somewhat like it where they 
said the Great Plumed Snake had one of his numerous houses. They 
reminded me of a legend they had formerly related to me of how the 
Snake arose from a great cavity or depression in the ground, and how, 
they had heard, water boiled out of that hole into a neighboring river. 
The Hopi have personal knowledge of Montezuma Well, for many of 


548 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


their number have visited Verde valley, aud they claim the ruins there 
as the homes of their ancestors. It would not be strange, therefore, 
if this marvelous crater was regarded by them as a house of Paluliikon, 
their mythic Plumed Serpent. 

Practically little is known of the pictography of this part of the 
Verde valley people, although it has an important bearing on the dis¬ 
tribution of the cliff dwellers of the Southwest. There is evidence of 
at least two kinds of petroglyplis, indicative of two distinct peoples. 
One of these was of the Apache Mohave; the other, the agriculturists 
who built the cliff homes and villages of the plain. Those of the 
latter are almost identical with the work of the Pueblo peoples in 
the cliff'dweller stage, from southern Utah and Colorado to the Mexican 
boundary. It is not a difficult task to distinguish the pictography of 
these two peoples, wherever found. The pictographs of the latter are 
generally pecked into the rock with a sharpened implement, probably 
of stone, while those of the former are usually scratched or painted on 
the surface of the rocks. Their main differences, however, are found in 
the character of the designs and the objects represented. This differ¬ 
ence can be described only by considering individual rock drawings, 
but the practiced eye may readily distinguish the two kinds at a glance. 
The pictographs which are pecked in the cliff are, as a rule, older than 
those which are drawn or scratched, and resemble more closely those 
widely spread in the Pueblo area, for if the cliff-house people ever made 
painted pictographs, as there is every reason to believe they did, time 
has long ago obliterated them. 

The pictured rocks (plate xcvil) near Cliff’s ranch, on Beaver creek, 
four miles from Montezuma Well, have a great variety of objects depicted 
upon them. These rocks, which rise from the left bank of the creek 
opposite Cliff’s ranch, bear over a hundred different rock pictures, 
figures of which are seen in the accompanying illustration. The rock 
surface is a layer of black malpais, through which the totem signatures 
have been pecked, showing the light stone beneath, and thus rendering 
them very conspicuous. Among these pictographs many familiar forms 
are recognizable, among them being the crane or blue heron, bears’ and 
badgers’ paws, turtles, snakes, antelopes, earth symbols, spirals, aud 
meanders. 

Among these many totems there was an unusual pictograph in the 
form of the figure 8, above which was a bear’s paw accompanied by a 
human figure so common in southwestern rock etchings. A square 
figure with interior parallel squares extending to the center is also 
found, as elsewhere, in cliff-dweller pictography. 

Cliff Houses of the Red-Rocks 

After the road from old Camp Verde to Flagstaff passes a deserted 
cabin at Beaver Head, it winds up a steep hill of lava or malpais to the 
top of the Mogolloues. If, instead of ascending this hill, one turns to 
















BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 





CLIFF HOUSE, MONTEZUMA WELL 













FEWKES] 


FEATURES OF THE RED-ROCK COUNTRY 


549 


tlie left, taking an obscure road across the river bed, which is full of 
rough lava blocks, and in June, when I traveled its course, was without 
water, he soon finds himself penetrating a rugged country with bright- 
red cliffs on his right (plate xcviii). Continuing through great parks 
and plains he finally descends to the well-wooded valley of Oak creek, 
an affluent of Rio Yerde. Here he finds evidences of aborigiual occu¬ 
pancy on all sides—ruins of buildings, fortified hilltops, pictographs, and 
irrigating ditches—testifying that there was at one time a considerable 
population in this valley. The fields of the ancient inhabitants have now 
given place to many excellent ranches, one of the most flourishing of 
which is not far from a lofty butte of red rock called the Court house, 
which from its great size is a conspicuous object for miles around. In 
many of these canyons there are evidences of a former population, but 
the country is as yet almost unexplored; there are many difficult places 
to pass, yet once near the base of the rocks a way can be picked from 
the mouth of one canyon to another. It does not take long to discover 
that this now uninhabited region contains, like that along the Yerde 
and its tributaries, many ancient dwellings, for there is scarcely a 
single canyon leading into these red cliffs in which evidences of for¬ 
mer human habitations are not found in the form of ruins. There is 
little doubt that these unfrequented canyons have many and extensive 
cliff houses, the existence of which has thus far escaped the explorer. 
The sandstone of which they are composed is- much eroded into caves 
with overhanging roofs, forming admirable sites for cliff houses as dis¬ 
tinguished from cavate dwellings like those we have described. They 
are the only described ruins of a type hitherto thought to be unrepre¬ 
sented in the valley of the Verde. 1 

In our excursion into the Red-rock country we were obliged to make 
our own wagon road, as no vehicle had ever penetrated the rugged 
canyons visited by us. It was necessary to carry our drinking water 
with us from Oak creek, which fact impeded our progress and limited 
the time available in our reconuoissance. There was, however, in the 
pool near the ruins of Honanki enough water for our horses, and at the 
time we were there a limited amount of grass for fodder was found. I 
was told that later in the season both forage and water are abundant, 
so that these prime necessities being met, there is no reason why suc¬ 
cessful archeological investigations may not be successfully conducted 
in this part of the Yerde region. 

The limited population of this portion of the country rendered it dif¬ 
ficult to get laborers at the time I made my reconuoissance, so that it 
would be advisable for one who expects to excavate the ruins in this 
region to take with him workmen from the settled portions of the 
valley. 

•The cliff houses of Bloody Basin I have not examined, hut I suspect they are of the same type as 
the so-called Montezuma Castle, or Casa Montezuma, on the right hank of Beaver creek. The latter 
is referred to the cliff-house class, but it differs considerably from the ruins of the Bed-rocks, on 
account of the character of the cavern in which it is built (see figure 246). 





550 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


Ruins near Schurmann’s Ranch 

The valley of Oak creek, near Court-house butte, especially in the 
vicinity of Schiirmann’s ranch, is dotted with fortifications, mounds 
indicative of ruins, and like evidences of aboriginal occupancy. There 
is undoubted proof that the foi'iner occupants of this plain constructed 
elaborate irrigating ditches, and that the waters of Oak creek were 
diverted from the stream and conducted over the adjoining valleys. 
There are several fortified hills in this locality. One of the best of 
these defensive works crowned a symmetrical mountain near Schur¬ 
mann’s house. The top of this mesa is practically inaccessible from any 
but the southern side, and was found to have a flat surface covered 
with scattered cacti and scrub cedar, among which were walls of 
houses nowhere rising more than two feet. The summit is perhaps 200 
feet above the valley, and the ground plan of the former habitations 
extends over an area 100 feet in length, practically occupying the whole 
of the summit. Although fragments of pottery are scarce, and other 
evidences of long habitation difficult to find, the house walls give every 
evidence of being extremely ancient, and most of the rooms are filled 
with red soil out of which grow trees of considerable age. 

Descending from this ruin-capped mesa, 1 noticed on the first ter¬ 
race the remains of a roundhouse, or lookout, in the middle of which 
a cedar tree had taken root and was growing vigorously. Although 
the walls of this structure do not rise above the level of the ground, 
there is no doubt that they are the remains of either a lookout or 
circular tower formerly situated at this point. 

Many similar ruins are found throughout this vicinity, yet but little 
more is known of them than that they antedate the advent of white 
men. The majority of them were defensive works, built by the house 
dwellers, and their frequency would indicate either considerable popu¬ 
lation or long occupancy. Although many of those on the hilltops 
differ somewhat from the habitations in the valleys, I think there is 
little doubt that both were built by the same people. 1 * There are like¬ 
wise many caves in this region, which seem to have been camping 
places, for their walls are covered with soot and their floors strewn 
with charred mescal, evidences, probably, of Apache occupancy. This 
whole section of country was a stronghold of this ferocious tribe within 
the last few decades, which may account for the modern appearance of 
many of the evidences of aboriginal habitation. 

There are some good pictographs on the foundation rocks of that 
great pinnacle of red rock, called the Court-house, not far from Schur¬ 
mann’s ranch. 3 Some of these are Apache productions, and the neigh- 

1 Fortified hilltops occur in many places in Arizona and are likewise found in the Mexican states of 
Sonora and Chihuahua, where they are known as trincheras. They are regarded as places of refuge 
of former inhabitants of the country, contemporaneous with ancient pueblos and cliff* houses. 

“This pinnacle is visible for miles, and is one of many prominences in the surrounding country. 

Unfortunately this region is so imperfectly surveyed that only approximations of distances are possi¬ 
ble in this account, and the maps known to me are too meager in detail to fairly illustrate the distri¬ 
bution of these buttes. 





BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. XCVI 



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RUIN ON THE BRINK OF MONTEZUMA WELL 
















FEWKES] 


HONANKI AND PALATKI 


551 


boring caves evidently formed shelters for these nomads, as ash pits 
and half-burnt logs would seem to show. This whole land was a strong¬ 
hold of the Apache up to a recent date, and from it they were dis¬ 
lodged, many of the Indians being killed or removed by authority of 
the Government. 

From the geological character of the Red-rocks I was led to suspect 
that cavate dwellings were not to be expected. The stone is hard and 
not readily excavated by the rude implements with which the aborigines 
of the region were supplied. But the remarkable erosion shown in this 
rock elsewhere had formed many deep caverns or caves, with overreach¬ 
ing roofs, very favorable for the sites of cliff houses. My hurried exam¬ 
ination confirmed my surmises, for we here found dwellings of this kind, 
so similar to the type best illustrated in Mancos canyon of southern 
Colorado. There were several smoke blackened caves without walls of 
masonry, but with floors strewn with charred wood, showing Apache 
occupancy. No cavate dwellings were found in the section of the Red 
rocks visited by our party. 

The two largest of the Red-rock cliff houses to which I shall refer 
were named Honanki or Bear house and Palatki or Red-house. Tlie 
former of these, as I learned from the names scribbled on its walls, 
had previously been visited by white men, but so far as I know it has 
never been mentioned in archeological literature. My attention was 
called to it by Mr Schiirmann, at whose hospitable ranch I outfitted 
for my reconnoissance into the Red rock country. The smaller ruin, 
Palatki, we discovered by chance during our visit, and while it is possi¬ 
ble that some vaquero in search of a wild steer may have visited the 
neighborhood before us, there is every reason to believe t'.iat the ruin 
had escaped even the notice of these persons, and, like Honanki, was 
unknown to the archeologist. 

The two ruins, Honanki and Palatki, are not the only ones in the 
lone canyon where we encamped. Following the canyon a shoi't dis 
tance from its entrance, there was found to open into it from the left 
a tributary, or so-called box canyon, the walls of which are very 
precipitous. Perched on ledges of the cliffs there are several rows 
of fortifications or walls of masonry extending for many yards. It 
was impossible for us to enter these works, even after we had clambered 
up the side of the precipice to their level, so inaccessible were they to 
our approach. These “forts” were probably for refuge, but they are 
ill adapted as points of observation on account of the configuration of 
the canyon. Their masonry, as examined at a distance with a field 
glass, resembles that of Palatki and Honanki. 

I was impressed by the close resemblance between the large cliff 
houses of the Red-rocks, with their overhanging roof of rock, and those 
of the San Juan and its tributaries in northern New Mexico. While it 
is recognized that cliff houses have been reported from Verde valley, I 
find them nowhere described, and our lack of information about them, 


552 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


so far as they are concerned, may have justified Nordenskiold’s belief 
that “the basin of the Colorado actually contains almost all the cliff 
dwellings of the United States.” As the Gila flows into the Colorado 
near its mouth, the Bed-rock ruins may in a sense be included in the 
Colorado basin, but there are many and beautiful cliff houses higher 
up near the sources of the Gila and its tributary, the Salt. In calling 
attention to the characteristic cliff dwellings of the Bed-rocks I am 
making known a new region of ruins closely related to those of Canyon 
de Tsegi, or Clielly, the San Juan and its tributaries. 

Although the cliff houses of Yerde valley had been known for many 
years, and the ruins here described are of the same general character, 
anyone who examines Casa Montezuma, on Beaver creek, and com¬ 
pares it with Honanki, will note differences of an adaptive nature. 



Fig. 246—Casa Montezuma on Beaver creek 


The one feature common to Honauki and the “Cliff Palace” of Mancos 
canyon is the great overhanging roof of the cavern, which, in that 
form, we miss in Casa Montezuma (figure 246). 1 

We made two camps in the Bed-rock country, one at the mouth of a 
wild canyon near an older camp where* a well had been dug and the 
cellar of an American house was visible. This camp was fully six miles 
from Schiirmauu’s ranch and was surrounded by some of the wildest 
scenery that I had ever witnessed. The accompanying view (plate 
xcvm) was taken from a small elevation near by, and gives a faint 
idea of the magnificent mountains by which we were surrounded. The 
colors of the rocks are variegated, so that the gorgeous cliffs appear to 

1 In certain cavate houses on Oak creek we find these caverns in two tiers, one above the other, and 
the hill above is capped by a well-preserved building. In one of these we find the entrance to the 
cavern walled in, with the exception of a T-shape doorway and a small window. This chamber shows 
a connecting link between the type of true cavate dwellings and that of cliff-houses. 
























































































. . 




































* 









































BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY • SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. XCVII 



PICTOGRAPHS NEAR CLIFF RANCH, VERDE VALLEY 














FEWKES] 


SCENERY OF THE RED-ROCKS 


553 


be banded, rising from 800 to 1,000 feet sheer on all sides. These rocks 
had weathered into fantastic shapes suggestive of cathedrals, Greek 
temples, and sharp steeples of churches extending like giant needles 
into the sky. The scenery compares very favorably with that of the 
Garden of the Gods, and is much more extended. This place, I have 
no doubt, will sooner or later become popular with the sightseer, and I 
regard the discovery of these cliffs one of the most interesting of my 
summer’s field work. 

On the sides of these inaccessible cliffs we noticed several cliff 
houses, but so high were they perched above us that they were almost 
invisible. To reach them at their dizzy altitude was impossible, but 
we were able to enter some caves a few hundred feet above our camp, 
finding in them nothing but charred mescal and other evidences of 
Apache camps. Their walls and entrances are blackened with smoke, 
but no sign of masonry was detected. 

We moved our camp westward from this canyon (which, from a great 
cliff resembliug the Parthenon, I called Temple canyon), following the 
base of the precipitous mountains to a second canyon, equally beautiful 
but not so grand, and built our fire in a small grove of scrub oak and 
cottonwood. In this lonely place Lloyd had lived over a winter, watch¬ 
ing his stock, and had dug a well and erected a corral. We adopted 
his name for this camp and called it Lloyd canyon. There was no water 
in the well, but a few rods beyond it there was a pool, from which we 
watered our horses. On the first evening at this camp we sighted a 
bear, which gave the name Honanki, “Bear-house,” to the adjacent 
ruined dwellings. 

- The enormous precipice of red rock west of our camp at Lloyd’s cor¬ 
ral hid Honanki from view at first, but we soon found a trail leading 
directly to it, and during our short stay in this neighborhood we 
remained camped near the cottonwoods at the entrance to the canyon, 
not far from the abandoned corral. Our studies of Honanki led to the 
discovery of Palatki (figure 247), which we investigated on our return to 
Temple canyon. 1 will, therefore, begin my description of the lied rock 
cliff houses with those last discovered, which, up to the visit which I 
made, had never been studied by archeologists. 

Palatki 

There are two neighboring ruins which I shall include in my consid¬ 
eration of Palatki, and these for convenience may be known as Ruin I 
and Ruin II, the former situated a little eastward from the latter. 
They are but a short distance apart, and are in the same box canyon. 
Ruin i (plate xcix) is the better preserved, and is a fine type of the 
compact form of cliff dwellings in the Red-rock country. 

This ruin is perched on the top of a talus which has fallen from the 
cliff above, and is visible for some distance above the trees, as one 
penetrates the canyon. It is built to the side of a perpendicular wall 


554 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


of rock which, high above its tallest walls, arches over it, sheltering 
the walls from rain or eroding influences. From the dry character of 
the earth on the floors I suspect that for years not a drop of water has 
penetrated the iuclosures, although they are now roofless. 

A highly characteristic feature of Ruin i is the repetition of rounded 
or bow-shape front walls, occurring several times in their length, and 
arranged in such a way as to correspond roughly to the inclosures 
behind them. By this arrangement the size of the rooms was increased 
and possibly additional solidity given to the wall itself. This depar- 


Fig. 247—Ground plan of P^latki (Ruins I and II) 

ture from a straight wall implies a degree of architectural skill, which, 
while not peculiar to the cliff dwellings of the Red-rocks, is rarely found 
in southern cliff houses. The total length of the front wall of the ruin, 
including the part which has fallen, is approximately 120 feet, aud the 
altitude of the highest wall is not far from 30 fe t. 

From the arrangement of openings in the front wall at the highest 
part there is good evidence of the former existence of two stories. At 
several points the foundation of the wall is laid on massive bowlders, 
which contribute to the height of the wall itself. The masonry is made 






















BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. XCVIII 



THE RED ROCKS; TEMPLE CANYON 














FEWKE8] 


MASONRY OF PALATKI 


555 


up of irregular or roughly squared blocks of red stoue laid in red clay, 
both evidently gathered in the immediate neighborhood of the ruin. 
The building stones vary in size, but are as a rule flat, and show 
well directed fractures as if dressed by hammering. In several places 
there still remains a superficial plastering, which almost conceals the 
masonry. The blocks of stone in the lower courses are generally more 
massive than those higher up; this feature, however, whether consid¬ 
ered as occurring here or in the cliff houses of Mesa Verde, as pointed 
out by Nordenskiold, seems to me not to indicate different builders, but 
is due simply to convenience. There appears to be no regularity in 
the courses of component blocks of stone, and when necessity com¬ 
pelled, as in the courses laid on bowlders, which serve as a foundation, 
thin wedges of stone, or spalls, were inserted in the crevices. The walls 
are vertical, but the corners are sometimes far from perpendicular. 

The interior of the ruin is divided into a number of inclosures by 
partitions at right angles to the front wall, fastening it to the face of the 
cliff'. This I have lettered, beginning at the extreme right inclosure 
with A. The inclosure has bounding walls, built on a bowlder some¬ 
what more than six feet high. It has no external passageway, and prob¬ 
ably the entrance was from the roof. This inclosure communicates by 
a doorway directly with the adjoining chamber, B. The corner of this 
room, or the angle made by tbe lateral with the front walls, is rounded, 
a constant feature in well built cliff' houses. No windows exist, and the 
upper edge of both front and lateral walls is but slightly broken. 

The front wall of inclosure B bulges into bow-shape form, and was 
evidently at least two stories high. This wall is a finely laid section 
of masonry, composed of large, rough stones in the lower courses, upon 
which smaller, roughly hewn stones are built. It is probable, from the 
large amount of debris in the neighborhood, that formerly there were 
rows of single-story rooms in front of what are now the standing walls, 
but the character of their architecture is difficult to determine with cer¬ 
tainty. Their foundations, although partially covered, are not wholly 
concealed. 

The front wall of inclosure B is pierced by three openings, the largest 
of which is a square passageway into the adjoining room, and is situ¬ 
ated in the middle of the curved wall. A wooden lintel, which had been 
well hewn with stone implements, still remains in place above this 
passageway, and under it the visitor passes through a low opening 
which has the appearance of having been once a doorway. Above this 
entrance, on each side, in the wall, is a square hole, which originally 
may have been the points of support of floor beams. Formerly, like 
wise, there was a large square opening above the middle passageway, 
but this has been closed with masonry, leaving in place the wooden 
beam which once supported the wall above. The upper edge of the 
front wall of inclosure B is level, and is but little broken except in two 
places, where there are notches, one above each of the square holes 


556 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


already mentioned. It is probable that these depressions were intended 
for the ends of the beams which once supported a combined roof and 
floor. 

On the perpendicular wall which forms the rear of inclosure B, many 
feet above the top of the standing front walls, there are several picto- 
graphs of Apache origin. The height of these above the level of the 
former roof would appear to indicate the existence of a third story, for 
the hands which drew them must have been at least 15 feet above the 
present top of the standing wall. 

The front of C is curved like that of inclosure B, and is much broken 
near the foundations, where there is a passageway. There is a small 
hole on each side of a middle line, as in B, situated at about the same 
level as the floor, indicating the former position of a beam. Within 
the ruin there is a well-made partition separating inclosures B and G. 

The size of room D is much less than that of B or C, but, with the 
exception of a section at the left, the front wall has fallen. The part 
which remains upright, however, stands like a pinnacle, unconnected 
with the face of the cliff or with the second-story wall of inclosure C. It 
is about 20 feet in height, and possibly its altitude appears greater than 
it really is from the fact that its foundations rest upon a bowlder nearly 
six feet high (plate cx). 

The foundations of rooms F and F (plate c) are built on a lower 
level than those of B and C or D, and their front walls, which are really 
low, are helped out by similar bowlders, which serve as foundations. 
The indications are that both these iuclosures were originally one story 
in height, forming a wing to the central section of the ruin, which 
had an additional tier of rooms. There is an entrance to F at the ex¬ 
treme left, and the whole room was lower than the floor of the lower 
stories of B, C, and I). 

The most conspicuous pictograph on the cliff above Ruin i of Palatki, 
is a circular white figure, seen in the accompanying illustration. This 
pictograph is situated directly above the first room on the right, A, and 
was apparently made with chalk, so elevated that at present it is far 
above the reach of a person standing on any of the walls. From its 
general character I am led to believe that it was made by the Apache 
and not by the builders of the pueblo. 

Tliere were no names of white visitors anywhere on the walls of 
Palatki, which, so far as it goes, affords substantial support of my 
belief that we were the first white men to visit this ruin. While it can 
not be positively asserted that we were the original discoverers of this 
interesting building, there is no doubt that I was the first to describe 
it and to call attention to its highly characteristic architectural plan. 

The walls of Palatki are not so massive as those of the neighboring 
Honanki, and the number of rooms in both ruins which form Palatki 
is much smaller. Each of these components probably housed not more 
than a few families, while several phratries could readily be accommo¬ 
dated in Honanki. 










































PALATKI (RUIN I) 












FEWKES] 


FEATURES OF PALATKI RUIN II 


557 


The second Palatki ruin is well preserved, and as a rule the rooms, 
especially those in front, have suffered more from vandalism and from 
the elements than have those of Ruin i. The arrangement of the 
rooms is somewhat different from that of the more exposed eastern 
ruin, to which it undoubtedly formerly belonged. 

Ruin ii lies in a deep recess or cave, the roof of which forms a per¬ 
fect arch above the walls. It is situated a few hundred feet to the 
west, and is easily approached by following the fallen debris at the foot 
of a perpendicular cliff'. The front walls have all fallen, exposing the 
rear wall of what was formerly a row of rooms, as shown in the accom¬ 
panying illustration (plate ci). There are evidences that tliis row of 
rooms was but a single story in height, while those behind it have indi¬ 
cations of three stories. Ruin n is more hidden by the trees and by its 
obscure position in a cavern than the former, but the masonry in 
both is of the same geueral character. 

On approaching Ruin n from Ruin I there is first observed a well- 
made though rough wall, as a rule intact, along which the line of 
roof and flooring can readily be traced (plate ci). In front of this 
upright wall are fragments of other walls, some standing in unconnected 
sections, others fallen, their fragments extending down the sides of the 
talus among the bushes. It was observed that this wall is broken by 
an entrance which passes into a chamber, which may be called A, and 
two square holes are visible, one on each side, above it. These holes 
were formerly filled by two logs, which once supported the floor of a 
second chamber,-the line of which still remains on the upright wall. 
The small square orifice directly above the entrance is a peephole. 

In examining the character of the wall it will be noticed that its 
masonry is in places rough cast, and that there was little attempt at 
regularity in the courses of the component stones, which are neither 
dressed nor aligned, although the wall is practically vertical. 

At one point, in full view of the observer, a log is apparently inserted 
in the wall, and if the surrounding masonry be examined it will be 
found that an opening below it had been filled in after the wall was 
erected. It is evident, from its position relatively to the line indicating 
the roof, that this opening was originally a passageway from one room 
to another. Passing back of the standing wall an inclosure (room A) 
is entered, one side of which is the rock of the cliff, while the other 
three bounding walls are built of masonry, 20 feet high. This inclosure 
was formerly divided into an upper and a lower room by a partition, 
which served as the roof of the lower and the floor of tne upper cham¬ 
bers. Two beams stretched across this inclosure about six feet above 
the debris of the present floor, and the openings in the walls, where 
these beams formerly rested, are readily observed. In the same way 
the beam-holes of the upper story may also be easily seen on the top of 
the wall. Between the rear wall of this inclosure and the perpendicular 
cliff there was a recess which appears to have been a dark chamber, 


55H EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 [eth.ann.17 

probably designed for use as a storage room or granary. The con¬ 
figuration of the cliff, which forms the major part of the inclosing wall 
of this chamber, imparts to it an irregular or roughly triangular form. 

The entire central portion of the ruin is very much broken down, and 
the floor is strewn to a considerable depth with the debris of fallen 
walls. On both sides there are nicely aligned, smoothly finished walls, 
with traces of beams on the level of former floors. Some of these 
bounding walls are curved; others are straight, and in places they rise 
20 feet. Marks of tire are visible everywhere; most of the beams have 
been wrenched from their places, as a result of which the walls have 
been much mutilated, badly cracked, or thrown down. 

There are no pictographs near this ruin, and no signs of former visits 
by white men. 

Midway between Houanki and the second Palatki ruin a small ancient 
house of the same character as the latter was discovered. This ruin is 
very much exposed, and therefore the walls are considerably worn, 
but six well marked inclosures, indicative of former rooms, were readily 
made out. No overarching rock shielded this ruin from the elements, 
and rubble from fallen walls covers the talus upon which it stands. 
The adobe mortar between the stones is much worn, and no fragment 
of plastering is traceable within or without. This evidence of the 
great weathering of the walls of the ruin is not considered indicative 
of greater age than the better preserved ruins iu the neighborhood, 
but rather of exposure to the action of the elements. Not only are 
the walls iu a very poor condition, but also the floors show, from the 
absence of dry soil upon them, that the whole ruin has suffered greatly 
from the same denudation. There are no fragments of pottery about 
it, and small objects indicating former habitation are also wanting. A 
cedar had taken root where the floor once wns, and its present great 
size shows considerable age. If any pictographs formerly existed iu 
the adjacent cliff they have disappeared. There is likewise no evi¬ 
dence that the Apache had ever sought it for shelter, or if they had, 
their occupancy occurred so long ago that time has effaced all evidence 
of their presence. 

Honanki 

The largest ruin visited in the Red-rock country was called, follow¬ 
ing Hopi etymology, Honanki; but the nomenclature was adopted not 
because it was so called by the Hopi, but following the rule elsewhere 
suggested. 

This ruin lies under a lofty buttress of rock westward from Lloyd’s 
canyon, which presented the only available camping place in its neigh¬ 
borhood. At the time of my visit there was but scanty water in the 
canyon and that not potable except for stock. We carried with us all 
the water we used, and when this was exhausted were obliged to 
retrace our steps to Oak creek. There are groves of trees in the canyon 


















































• • 






\ 










































PALATKI (RUIN 















FEWKES] 


FEATURES OF HONANKI RUIN 


559 



and evidences that at some seasons there is an abundant water supply. 
A corral had been made and a well dug near its mouth, but with these 
exceptions there were no evidences of pre¬ 
vious occupancy by white men. We had 
hardly pitched our camp before tracks of 
large game were noticed, and before we left 
we sighted a bear which had come down to 
the water to drink, but which beat a hasty 
retreat at our approach. As previously 
stated, the knowledge of this ruin was com¬ 
municated to me by Mr Schurmann. 

The Ilonanki ruin (figure 248) extends 
along the base of the cliff for a consider¬ 
able distance, and may for convenience of 
description be divided into two sections, 
which, although generally similar, differ 
somewhat in structural features. The for¬ 
mer is lineal in its arrangement, and con¬ 
sists of a fringe of houses extending along 
the base of the cliff at a somewhat lower 
level than the other. The walls of this sec¬ 
tion were for the greater part broken, and 
at no place could anything more than the 
foundation of the front wall be detected, 
although fragments of masonry strewed the 
sides of the declivity near its base. The 
house walls which remain are well built par¬ 
allel spurs constructed at right angles to 
the cliff, which served as the rear of all the 
chambers. At the extreme right end of this 
row of rooms, situated deep in a large cav¬ 
ern with overhanging roof, portions of a 
rear wall of masonry are well preserved, 
and the lateral walls of one or two cham¬ 
bers in this portion of the ruin are still in¬ 
tact. Straggling along from that point, fol¬ 
lowing the contour of the base of the cliff 
under which it lies, there extends a long 
row of rooms, all destitute of a front wall. 

The first division (plate on), beginning 
with the most easterly of the series, is 
quite hidden at one end in a deep cavern. 

At this point the builders, in order to obtain 
a good rear wall to their rooms, constructed 
a line of masonry parallel with the face of the cliff. At right angles 
to this construction, at the eastern extremity, there are remnants of a 



560 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


lateral wall, but the remainder had tumbled to the ground. The stand¬ 
ing wall of z is not continuous with that of the next room, y , and 
apparently was simply the rear of a large room with the remains of a 
lateral wall at right angles to it. The other walls of this chamber had 
tumbled into a deep gorge, overgrown with bushes which conceal 
the fragments. This building is set back deeply in the cave, and is 
isolated from the remaining parts of the ruin, although at the level 
which may have been its roof there runs a kind of gallery formed by a 
ledge of rock, plastered with adobe, which formerly connected the roof 
with the rest of the pueblo. This ledge was a means of intercommuni¬ 
cation, and a continuation of the same ledge, in rooms s, t , and u, 
supported the rafters of these chambers. At u there are evidences of 
two stories or two tiers of rooms, but those iu front have fallen to the 
ground. 

The standing wall at u is about five feet high, connected with the 
face of the cliff by masonry. The space between it and the cliff was 
not large enough for a habitable chamber, and was used probably as 
a storage place. In front of the standing wall of room u there was 
another chamber, the walls of which now strew the talus of the cliff. 

The highest aud best preserved room of the second series of cham¬ 
bers at Houanki is that designated p, at a point where the ruin reached 
an elevation of 20 feet. Here we have good evidence of rooms of two 
stories, as indicated by the points of insertion of the beams of a fioor, 
at the usual levels above the ground. Iu fact, it is probable that the 
whole section of the ruin was two stories high throughout, the front 
walls having fallen along the entire length. From the last room on 
the left to the eastern extremity of the line of houses which leads 
to the main ruin of Ilonauki, no ground plans were detected at the 
base of the cliffs, but fallen rocks and scattered debris are strewn 
over the whole interval. 

The eastern part of the main ruin of Houanki, however, lies but a 
short distance west of that described, and consists of many similar 
chambers, arranged side by side. These are lettered in the diagram h 
to u, beginning with h, which is irregularly circular in form, and ends 
with a high wall, the first to be seen as one approaches the ruin from 
Lloyd canyon. This range of houses is situated on a lower foundation 
and at a lower level than that of the main quarter of Houanki, and a 
trail runs along so close to the rooms that the whole series is easily 
visited without much climbing. No woodwork remains in any of 
these rooms, and the masonry is badly broken in places either by 
natural agencies or through vandalism. 

Beginning with h, the round room, which adjoins the main quarter 
of Houanki, we find much in its shape to remind us of a kiva. The 
walls are in part built on foundations of large bowlders, one of which 
formed the greater part of the front wall. This circular room was 
found to be full of fallen ddbris, and could not be examined without 



BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. Cl 






















FEWKES] 


ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES OF HONANKI 


561 


considerable excavation. If it were a kiva, which I very much doubt, 
it is an exception among the Verde valley ruins, where no true kiva 
has yet been detected. 1 

Following h there is an inclosure which originally may have been a 
habitable room, as indicated by the well-constructed front wall, but it is 
so tilled with large stones that it is difficult to examine its interior. On 
one side the wall, which is at right angles to the face of the cliff, is 10 
feet high, and the front wall follows the surface of a huge bowlder 
which serves as its foundation. 

Room i is clearly defined, and is in part inclosed by a large rock, on 
top of which there still remains a fragment of a portion of the front 
wall. A spur of masonry connects this bowlder with the face of the cliff, 
indicating all that remains of the former division between rooms i and/. 
An offshoot from this bowlder, in the form of a wall 10 feet high, for¬ 
merly inclosed one side of a room. In the rear of chamber j there are 
found two receptacles or spaces left between the rear wall and the face 
of the cliff, while the remaining wall, which is 10 feet high, is a good 
specimen of pueblo masonry. 

The two side walls of room fc are well preserved, but the chamber 
resembles the others of the series in the absence of a front wall. In 
this room, however, there remains what may have been the fragment of 
a rear wall parallel with the face of the cliff'. This room has also a 
small cist of masonry in one corner, which calls to mind certain sealed 
cavities in the cavate dwellings. 

The two side walls of m and n are respectively eight and ten feet high. 
There is nothing exceptional in the standing walls of room o, one of 
which, five feet in altitude, still remains erect. Room p has a remnant 
of a rear wall plastered to the face of the cliff. 

Room r (plate cm) is a finely preserved chamber, with lateral walls 
20 feet high, of well-constructed masonry, that in the rear, through 
which there is an opening leading into a dark chamber, occupying the 
space between it and the cliff'. It is braced by connecting walls at 
right angles to the face of the solid rock. 

At s, the face of the cliff forms a rear wall of the room, and one of 
the side walls is fully 20 feet high. The points of insertion of the 
flooring are well shown, about 10 feet from the ground, proving that 
the ruin at this point was at least two stories high. 

Two walled inclosures, one within the other, characterize room u. 
On the cliff above it there is a series of simple pictographs, consisting 
of short parallel lines pecked into the rock, and are probably of Apache 
origin. This room closes the second series, along the whole length of 
which, in front of the lateral walls which mark different chambers, 
there are, at intervals, piles of debris, which enabled an approximate 

1 The absence of kivas in the ruins of the Verde has been commented on by Mindeleff, and has 
likewise been found to be characteristic of the cliff houses on the upper courses of the other tribu¬ 
taries of Gila and Salado rivers. The round kiva appears to be confined to the middle and eastern 
ruins of the pueblo area, and are very numerous in the ruins of San Juan valley. 

17 ETH, PT 2-7 






562 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


determination of the situation of the former front wall, fragments of 
the foundations of which are traceable in situ in several places. 

The hand of man and the erosion of the elements have dealt harshly 
with this portion-of Honanki, for not a fragment of timber now remains 
in its walls. This destruction, so far as human agency is concerned, 
could not have been due to white men, but probably to the Apache, or 
possibly to the cliff villagers themselves at the time of or shortly after 
the abandonment of the settlement. 

From the second section of Honanki we pass to the third and best- 
preserved portion of the ruins (figure 249), indicated in the diagram 
from a to g. To this section I have referred as the “main ruin,” for it 



Fig. 249—The main ruin of Honanki 


was evidently the most populous quarter of the ancient cliff dwelling. 
It is better preserved than the remainder of Honanki, and is the only 
part in which all four walls of the chambers still remain erect. Built at 
a higher level than the series of rooms already considered, it must have 
towered above them, and possibly served as a place of retreat when 
danger beset the more exposed quarters of the village. 

Approaching the main ruin of Honanki (plate civ) from the east, or 
the parts already described, one passes between the buttress on which 
the front wall of the rounded room h is built and a fragment of masonry 
on the left, by a natural gateway through which the trail is very steep. 
On the right there towers above the visitor a well-preserved wall of 





















BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 



HONANKI (RUIN II) 























FEWKES] 


ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES OF HONANKI 


563 


masonry, the .front of room a , and lie soon passes abreast of the main 
portion of the ruin of Honanki. This section is built in a huge cavern, 
the overhanging roof of which is formed, by natural rock, arching far 
above the tops of the highest walls of the pueblo and suggesting the 
surroundings of the “ Cliff Palace” of Mesa Verde, so well described 
by the late Baron G. Nordenskiold in his valuable monograph on the 
ruins of that section of southern Colorado. The main ruin of Honanki 
is one of the largest and best preserved architectural monuments of the 
former people of Verde valley that has yet been described. Although 
somewhat resembling its rival, the well-known “Casa Montezuma” of 
Beaver creek, its architecture is dissimilar on account of the difference 
in the form of the cavern in which it is built and the geological charac¬ 
ter of the surrounding cliffs. Other Verde ruins may have accom¬ 
modated more people, when inhabited, but none of its type south of 
Canyon de Chelly have yet been described which excel it in size and 
condition of preservation. I soon found that our party were not the 
first whites who had seen this lonely village, as the names scribbled on 
its walls attested; but so far as I know it had not previously been 
visited by archeologists. 

In the main portion of Honanki we found that the two ends of the 
crescentic row of united rooms which compose it are built on rocky ele¬ 
vations, with foundations considerably higher than those of the rooms 
in the middle portion of the ruins. The line of the front wall is, there¬ 
fore, not exactly crescentic, but irregularly curved (figure 249), conform¬ 
ing to the rear of the cavern in which the houses are situated. About 
midway in the curve of the front walls two walls indicative of former 
rooms extend at an angle of about 25° to the main front wall. All the 
component rooms of the main part of Honanki can be entered, some by 
external passageways, others by doorways communicating with adjacent 
chambers. (None of the iuclosures have roofs or upper floors, although 
indications of the former existence of both these structural features 
may readily be seen in several places. Although wooden beams are 
invariably wanting, fragments of these still project from the walls, 
almost always showing on their free ends, inside the rooms, the effect 
of fire. I succeeded in adding to the collection a portion of one of 
these beams, the extremity of which had been battered off, evidently 
with a stone implement. In the alkaline dust which covered the floor 
several similar specimens were seen. 

The stones which form the masonry of the wall (figure 250) were not, 
as a rule, dressed or squared before they were laid with adobe mortar, 
but were generally set in place iu the rough condition in which they 
may still be obtained anywhere under the cliff. 

All the mortar used was of adobe or the tenacious clay which serves 
so many purposes among the Pueblos. The walls of the rooms were 
plastered with a thick layer of the same material. The rear wall of 
each room is the natural rock of the cliff, which rises vertically and 


564 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 



Fig. 250—Structure of wall of Honanki 

stantial evidence of tlie former existence of fourteen rooms in this part 
of the ruin. There can be little doubt that there were other rooms 
along the front of the central portion, and the fallen walls show them 
to have been of large size. It would likewise appear that the middle 
part was higher than the two wings, which would increase the number 
of chambers, so that with these additions it may safely be said that this 
part of Honanki alone contained not far from twenty rooms. 


has a very smooth surface. The great natural arch way which covers the 
whole pueblo protects it from wind and rain, and as a consequence, 
save on the front face, there are few signs of natural erosion. The hand 
of man, however, has dealt rudely with this venerable building, and 
many of the walls, especially of rooms which formerly stood before the 
'central portion, lie prone upon the earth; but so securely were the 
component stones held together by the adobe that even after their fall 
sections of masonry still remain intact. 

There are seven walled inclosures in the main part of Honanki, and 
as each of these was formerly at least two stories high there is sub- 












































































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BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. Cl 11 



WALLS OF HONANKI 
























fewkes] ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES OF HONANKI 565 

The recess in the cliff in which the ruin is situated is lower in the 
middle than at either side, where there are projecting ledges of rock 
which were utilized by the builders in the construction of the founda¬ 
tions, the line of the front wall following the inequalities of the ground. 
It thus results that rooms g , a, Z>, and a part of c, rise from a founda¬ 
tion about breast high, or a little higher than the base of rooms d, e , 
and f. 

The front wall of a has for its foundation a spur or ledge of rock, 
which is continued under b and a part of c. The corner or angle of 
this wall, facing the round chamber, is curved in the form of a tower, 
a considerable section of its masonry being iutact. Near the founda¬ 
tion and following the inequalities of the rock surface the beginning 
of a wall at right angles to the face of the ruin at this point is seen. 
A small embrasure, high above the base of the front wall, on the side 
by which one approaches the ruin from the east, and two smaller open¬ 
ings on the same level, looking out over the valley, suggest a floor and 
lookouts. The large square orifice in the middle of the face of the 
wall has a wooden lintel, still in place; the opening is large enough for 
use as a door or passageway. The upper edge of the front wall is 
somewhat irregular, but a notch in it above the square opening is 
conspicuous. 

The rear wall of room a was the face of the cliff, formed of solid 
rock without masonry and very much blackened by smoke from former 
fires. As, however, there is evidence that since its destruction or 
abandonment by its builders this ruin has been occupied as a camping- 
place by the Apache, it is doubtful to which race we should ascribe 
this discoloration of the walls by soot. 

On the ground floor there is a passageway into chamber b , which is 
considerably enlarged, although the position of the lintel is clearly 
indicated by notches in the wall. The beam which was formed there 
had been torn from its place and undoubtedly long ago used for fire¬ 
wood by nomadic visitors. The open passageway, measured externally, 
is about 15 feet above the foundation of the wall, through which it is 
broken, and about 8 feet below the upper edge of the wall. 

Eoom b is an irregular, square chamber, two stories high, communi¬ 
cating with a and c by passages which are enlarged by breakage in 
the walls. A small hole in the front wall, about 6 feet from the floor, 
opens externally to the air. The walls are, in general, about 2 feet 
thick, and are composed of flat red stones laid in clay of the same 
color. The cliff forms the rear wall of the chamber. The clay at 
certain places in the walls, especially near the insertions of the beams 
and about the window openings, appears to have been mixed with a 
black pitch, which serves to harden the mixture. 

Eoom c is the first of a series of chambers, with external passage- 
ways, but its walls are very much broken down, and the openings 
thereby enlarged. The front wall is almost straight and in one place 


566 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


stands 30 feet, the maximum height of the standing wall of the ruins. 
In one corner a considerable quantity of ashes and many evidences of 
tire, some of which may be ascribed to Apache occupants, was detected. 
A wooden beam, marking the line of the floor of a second story, was seen 
projecting from the front wall, and there are other evidences of a floor 
at this level. Large beams apparently extended from the front wall to 
the rear of the chamber, where they rested on a ledge in the cliff, aud 
over these smaller sticks were laid side by side and at right angles to 
the beams. These in turn supported either flat stones or a layer of 
mud or clay. The method of construction of one of these loofs is 
typical of a Tusayau kiva, where ancient architectural forms are 
adhered to and best preserved. 

The entrance to room d is very much enlarged by the disintegration 
of the wall, and apparently there was at this point a difference in level 
of the front wall, for there is evidence of rooms in advance of those 
connected with the chambers described, as shown by a line of masonry, 
still standing, parallel to the front face of iuclosures c and d. 

Room e communicates by a doorway with the chamber marked f, 
and there is a small window in the same partition. This room had a 
raised banquette on the side toward the cliff, recalling an arrangement 
of the floor similar to that in the eavate dwellings opposite Squaw moun¬ 
tain which I have described. This platform is raised about three 
feet above the remainder of the floor of /, aud, like it, is strewn with 
large slabs of stone, which have fallen from the overhanging roof. In 
the main floor, at one corner, near the platform, there is a rectangular 
box-like structure made of thin slabs of stone set on edge, suggesting 
the grinding bins of the Pueblos. Room f communicates with g by a 
passageway which has a stone lintel. The holes in the walls, in which 
beams were once inserted, are seen in several places at different levels 
above the floor. The ends of several beams, one extremity of which 
is invariably charred, were found set in the masonry, and others were 
dug from the debris in the floor. 

As a result of the curve in the front wall of the ruin at that point, the 
shape of room / is roughly quadrate, with bauquettes on two sides. 
There are six large beam holes in the walls, and the position of the first 
floor is well shown on the face of the partition, separating f from g. 
The passageway from one of these rooms to the other is slightly arched. 

Room g is elongated, without an external entrance, and communi¬ 
cates with f by a small opening, through which it is very difficult to 
crawl. Its longest dimension is almost at right angles to the front 
face of the remaining rooms,.and it is raised above them by its founda¬ 
tion on an elevated rock like that of a, b, and c. There is a small, 
square, external opening which may have served as the position of a 
former beam or log. The upper level of the front wall is more or less 
broken down in places, and formerly may have been much higher. 
Beyond g a spur of masonry is built at right angles to the cliff, inclos- 






























































. 






































































































































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BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. CIV 



















FEWKES] 


POPULATION OF HONANKI AND PALATKI 


567 


ing a rectaugular chamber at the end of the ruin which could not be 
entered. Possibly in former times it was accessible by means of a 
ladder from the roof, whence communication with other portions of the 
structure was also had. 

A short distance beyond the westernmost rooms of Honanki, almost 
covered with bushes and adjoining the base of the cliff’, there is a large 
ash heap in which are many fragments of pottery and the bones of 
various animals. It is probable that excavation in this quarter would 
reveal many interesting objects. In the cliffs above this ash heap, far 
beyond reach, there is a walled niche which has never been disturbed. 
This structure is similar to those near the cavate dwellings, and when 
opened will probably be found to contain buried mortuary objects of 
interesting character. I did not disturb this inclosure, inasmuch as I 
had no ladders or ropes with which to approach it. 

It is very difficult to properly estimate, from the number of rooms in 
a cliff' house, the former population, and as a general thing the ten¬ 
dency is rather to overstate than to fall short of the true total. In a 
pueblo like Hano, on the first or east mesa of Tusayan, for instance, 
there are many uninhabited rooms, and others serve as storage cham¬ 
bers, while in places the pueblo has so far fallen into ruin as to be unin¬ 
habitable. If a pueblo is very much concentrated the population varies 
at different seasous of the year. In summer it is sparsely inhabited; 
in winter it is rather densely populated. While Palatki and Honanki 
together had rooms sufficient to house 500 people. I doubt whether their 
aggregate population ever exceeded 200. This estimate, of course, is 
based on the supposition that these villages were contemporaneously 
inhabited. 

The evidences all point to a belief, however, that they were both per¬ 
manent dwelling places and not temporary resorts at certain seasons 
of the year. 

The pictographs on the face of the cliff above Honanki are for the 
greater part due to the former Apache occupants of the rooms, and are 
situated high above the tops of the walls of the ruin. They are, as a 
rule, drawn with white chalk, which shows very clearly on the red rock, 
and are particularly numerous above room g. The figure of a circle, 
with lines crossing one another diametrically and continued as rays 
beyond the periphery, possibly represent the sun. Many spiral figures, 
almost constant pictographs in cliff ruins, are found in several places. 
Another strange design, resembling some kind of insect, is very con¬ 
spicuous. 

A circle painted green and inclosed in a border of yellow is undoubt¬ 
edly of Apache origin. There is at one point a row of small pits, 
arranged in line, suggesting a score or enumeration of some kind, and a 
series of short parallel lines of similar import was found not far away. 
This latter method of recording accounts is commonly used at the pres¬ 
ent time in Tusayan, both in houses and on cliffs; and one of the best 


568 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


of these, said to enumerate the number of Apache killed by the Hopi 
in a raid many years ago, may be seen above the trail by which the 
visitor enters the pueblo of Hano on the East Mesa. The names of sev¬ 
eral persons scratched on the face of the cliff indicate that Americans 
had visited Honanki before me. 

The majority of the paleoglyphs at both Palatki and Honanki are of 
Apache origin, and are of comparatively modern date, as would natur¬ 
ally be expected. In some instances their colors are as fresh as if made 
a few years ago, and there is no doubt that they were drawn after the 
building was deserted by its original occupants. The positions of 
the' pietographs on the cliffs imply that they were drawn before the 
roofs and flooring had been destroyed, thus showing how lately the 
ruin preserved its ancient form. In their sheltered position there seems 
to be no reason why the ancient pietographs should not have been 
preserved, and the fact that so few of the figures pecked in the cliff 
now remain is therefore instructive. 

One of the first tendencies of man in visiting a ruin is to inscribe 
his name on its walls or on neighboring cliffs. This is shared by both 
Indians and whites, and the former generally makes his totem on the 
rock surface, or adds that of his gods, the sun, rain-cloud, or katciuas. 
Inscriptions recording events are less common, as they are more difficult 
to indicate with exactitude in this system of pictography. The majority 
of ancient pietographs in the Eed-rock country, like those I have con¬ 
sidered in other parts of Verde valley, are identical with picture writ¬ 
ings now made in Tusayan, and are recognized and interpreted without 
hesitation by the Hopi Indians. In their legends, in which the migra¬ 
tions of their ancestors are recounted, the traditionists often mention 
the fact that their ancestors left their totem signatures at certain points 
in their wanderings. The Patki people say that you will find on the 
rocks of Palatkwabi, the “Red Laud of the South” from which they 
came, tbtems of the rain cloud, sun, crane, parrot, etc. If we find these 
markings in the direction which they are thus definitely declared to 
exist, and the Hopi say similar pictures were made by tlieir ancestors, 
there seems no reason to question such circumstantial evidence that 
some of the Hopi clans once came from this region. 1 

One of the most interesting of the pietographs pecked in the rock 
is a figure which, variously modified, is a common decoration on cliff- 
dweller pottery from the Verde valley region to the ruins of the San Juan 
and its tributaries. This figure has the form of two concentric spirals, 
the ends of which do not join. As this design assumes many modifica¬ 
tions, it may be well to consider a few forms which it assumes on the 
pottery of the cliff people and on that of their descendants, the Pueblos. 

The so-called black-and-white ware, or white pottery decorated with 
black lines, which is so characteristic of the ceramics of the cliff’ dwellers, 
is sometimes, as we shall see, found in ruins like Awatobi and Sikyatki; 

1 See “Tusayan Totemic Signatures,” American Anthropologist , Washington, January, 1897. 






FEWKES J POTTERY DECORATION 5G9 

but it is so rare, as compared with other varieties, that it may be 
regarded as intrusive. 

One of the simplest forms of the broken-line motive is a Greek fret, in 
which there is a break in the component square figures or where the 
line is noucontinuous. In the simplest form, which appears prominently 
on modern pottery, but which is rare or wanting on true black-and- 
white ware, we have two crescentic figures, the concavities of which 
face in different directions, but the horns overlap. This is a symbol 
which the participants in the dance called the Humiskatcina still paint 
with pigments on their breasts, and which is used on shields and 
various religious paraphernalia. 

A study of any large collection of decorated Pueblo ware, ancient or 
modern, will show many modifications of this broken line, a number of 
which I shall discuss more in detail when pottery ornamentation is con¬ 
sidered. A design so distinctive and so widespread as this must cer¬ 
tainly have a symbolic interpretation. The concentric spirals with a 
bi-okeu line, the Hopi say, are symbols of the whirlpool, and it is 
interesting to find in the beautiful plates of Chavero's Antigiiedades 
Mexicanas that the water in the lagoon surrounding the ancient Aztec 
capital was indicated by the Nahuatl Indians with similar symbols. 

Objects Found at Palatki and Honanici 

The isolation of these ruins and the impossibility of obtaining work¬ 
men, combined with the brief visit which I was able to make to them, 
rendered it impossible to collect very many specimens of ancient handi¬ 
work. The few excavations which were made were limited almost 
wholly to Honanki, and from their success I can readily predict a rich 
harvest for anyone who may attempt systematic work in this virgin 
field. We naturally chose the interior of the rooms for excavation, 
and l will say limited our work to these places. Every chamber was 
more or less filled with debris—fragments of overturned walls, detached 
rock from the cliff above, dry alkaline soil, drifted sand, dust, and 
animal excreta. In those places where digging was possible we found 
the dust and guano so dry and alkaline that it was next to impossible 
to work for any length of time in the rooms, for the air became so 
impure that the workmen could hardly breathe, especially where the 
inclosing walls prevented ventilation. Notwithstanding this obstacle, 
however, we removed the accumulated debris down to the floor in one or 
two chambers, and examined with care the various objects of aboriginal 
origin which were revealed. 

In studying the specimens found in cliff-houses due attention has 
not always been given to the fact that occupants have oftentimes 
camped in them subsequently to their abandonment by the original 
builders. As a consequence of this temporary habitation objects 
owned by unrelated Indians have frequently been confused with those 
of the cliff-dwellers proper. We found evidences that both Honanki 


570 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


and Palatki bad been occupied by Apache Mohave people for longer 
or shorter periods of time, and some of the specimens were probably 
left there by these inhabitants. 

The ancient pottery found in the rooms, although fragmentary, is 
sufficiently complete to render a comparison with known ceramics from 
the Verde ruins. Had we discovered the cemeteries, for which we zeal¬ 
ously searched in vain, no doubt entire vessels, deposited as mortuary 
offerings, would have been found; but the kind of ware of which they 
were made would undoubtedly have been the same as that of the 
fragments. 

No pottery distinctively different from that which has already been 
reported from the Verde valley ruins was found, and the majority 
resembled so closely in texture and symbolism that of the cliff houses 
of the San Juan, in northern New Mexico and southern Utah, that 
they may be regarded as practically identical. 

The following varieties of pottery were found at Honanki: 

i. Coiled ware. 

ii. Indented ware. 

hi. Smooth ware. 

IV. Smooth ware painted white, with black geometric figures. 

V. Smooth red ware, with black decoration. 

By far the largest number of fragments belong to the first division, 
and these, as a rule, are blackened by soot, as if used in cooking. 
The majority are parts of large open-mouth jars with flaring rims, cor¬ 
rugated or often indented with the thumb-nail or some hard substance, 
the coil becoming obscure on the lower surface. The inside of these 
jars is smooth, but never polished, and in one instance the potter used 
the corrugations of the coil as an ornamental motive. The paste of 
which this coiled ware was composed is coarse, with argillaceous 
grains scattered through it; but it was well fired and is still hard and 
durable. When taken in connection with its tenuity, these features 
show a highly developed potter’s technique. A single fragment is orna¬ 
mented with an S-shape coil of clay fastened to the corrugations in 
much the same way as in similar ware from the ruins near the Colorado 
Chiquito. 

The fragments of smooth ware show that they, too, had been made 
originally in the same way as coiled ware, and that their outer as well 
as their inner surface had been rubbed smooth before tiring. As a rule, 
however, they are coarse in texture and have little symmetry of form. 
Fragments identified as parts of bowls, vases, jars, and dippers are 
classed under this variety. As a rule they are badly or unevenly fired, 
although evidently submitted to great heat. There was seldom an 
effort made to smooth the outer surface to a polish, and no attempt at 
pictorial oruamentation was made. 

The fragments represented in classes iv and v were made of a much 
finer clay, and the surface bears a gloss, almost a glaze. The orna- 


FEWKES] 


STONE IMPLEMENTS FROM HONANKI 


571 


mentation on the few fragments which were found is composed of geo¬ 
metric patterns, and is identical with the sherds from other ruins of 
Yerde valley, A fragment each of a dipper and a ladle, portions of a red 
bowl, and a rim of a large vase of the same color were picked up near 
the ruin. Most of the fragments, liowever, belong to the first classes— 
the coiled and indented wares. 

There was no evidence that the former inhabitants of these buildings 
were acquainted with metals. The ends of the beams had been hacked 
off evidently with blunt stone axes, aided by fire, and the lintels of the 
houses were of split logs which showed no evidence that any metal imple¬ 
ment was used in fashioning them. We found, however, several stone 
tools, which exhibit considerable skill in the art of stone working. 
These include a single ax, blunt at one end, sharpened at the other, 
and girt by a single groove. The variety of stone from which the ax 
was made does not occur in the immediate vicinity of the ruin. There 
were one or two stone hammers, grooved for hafting, like the ax. A 
third stone maul, being grooveless, was evidently a hand tool for 
breaking other stones or for grinding pigments. 



Perhaps the most interesting stone implement which was found was 
uncovered in the excavation of one of the middle rooms of the western 
part of the ruin, about three feet below the surface. It consists of 
a wooden handle rounded at each end and slightly curved, with a 
sharpened stone inserted midway of its length and cemented to the 
wood with pitch or asphaltum. The stone of this implement would 
hardly bear rough usage, or sustain, without fracture, a heavy blow. 
The edge is tolerably sharp, and it therefore may have been used iu 
skinning animals. Judging from the form of the handle, the imple¬ 
ment is better suited for use as a scraper than for any other purpose 
which has occurred to me (figure 251). 

The inhabitants of the two ruins of the Ped-rocks used obsidian 
arrowpoints with shafts of reeds, and evidently highly regarded frag¬ 
ments of the former material for knives, spearheads, and one or two 
other purposes. 

The stone metates from these ruins are in no respect characteristic, 
and several fine specimens were found in place on the doors of the rooms. 
One of these was a well-worn specimen of lava, which must have been 






572 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


{ETH. ANN. 17 


brought from a considerable distance, since none of that material occurs 
in the neighborhood. The existence of these grinding stones implies the 
use of maize as food, and this evidence was much strengthened by the 
finding of corncobs, kernels of corn, and charred fragments at several 
points below the surface of the debris in the chambers of Honanki. 
One of these grinding stones was found set in the floor of one of the rooms 
in the same way that similar metates may be seen in Walpi today. 

Of bone implements, our limited excavations revealed only a few frag¬ 
ments. Leg bones of the turkey were used for awls, bodkins, needles, 
and similar objects. In general character the implements of this kind 
which were found are almost identical in form with 



mens belonged to the original builders or to later temporary occupants, 
there is little doubt that most of them were the property of the latter. 

There were many specimens of basketry found on the surface of the 
rubbish of the floors which, from the position of their occurrence and 
from their resemblance to the wickerwork still used by the Apache, 
seem without doubt to have been left there by temporary occupants of 
the rooms. There were likewise many wisps of yucca fiber tied in 
knots which must probably be regarded as of identical origin. The 
Yucca baccata affords the favorite fiber used by the natives at the 
present time, and it appears to have been popular for that purpose 
among the ancients. 













FEWKES] 


TEXTILE ARTICLES-ORNAMENTS 


573 


Several specimens of sandals, some of which are very much worn on 
the soles, were found buried at the floor level. These are all of the 
same kind, and are made of yucca leaves plaited in narrow strips. 
The mode of attachment to the foot was evidently by a loop passing 
over the toes. Hide and cloth sandals have as yet not been reported 
from the Red-rock ruins of Verde valley. These sandals belonged to 
the original occupants of the cliff houses. 

Fabrics made of cotton are common in the ruins of the Bed-rocks, 
and at times this fiber was combined with yucca. Some of the spec¬ 
imens of cotton cloth were finely woven and are still quite strong, 
although stained dark or almost black. Specimens of netting are also 
common, and an open-mesli legging, similar to the kind manufactured 
in ancient times by the Hopi and still worn by certain personators in 
their sacred dances, were taken from the western room of Houanki. 
There were also many fragments of rope, string, cord, and loosely 
twisted bands, resembling head bands for carrying burdens. 

A reed (figure 252) in which was inserted a fragment of cotton liber 
was unlike anything yet reported from cliff houses, and as the end of 
the cotton which projected beyond the cavity of the reed was charred, 
it possibly was used as a slow-match or tinder-box. 

Several shell and turquois beads were found, but my limited studies 
of the cliff-houses revealed only a few other ornaments, among them 
being beads of turkey-bone and a single wristlet fashioned from a Pec- 
time ulus. One or two fragments of prayer-sticks were discovered in a 
rock inclosure in a cleft to the west of the ruin. 

Conclusions Regarding the Verde Valley Ruins 

The ruins of the Verde region closely resemble those of Tusayan, 
and seem to support the claim of the Hopi that some of their ancestors 
formerly lived in that region. This is true more especially of the 
villages of the plains and mesa tops, for neither cave-houses nor 
cavate-dwellings are found in the immediate vicinity of the inhabited 
Tusayan pueblos. The objects taken from the ruins are similar to 
those found universally over the pueblo area, and from them alone we 
can not say more than that they probably indicate the same substratum 
of culture as that from which modern pueblo life with its many modifi¬ 
cations has sprung. 

The symbolism of the decorations on the fragments of pottery found 
in the Verde ruins is the same as that of the ancient pueblos of the 
Colorado Chiquito, and it remains to be shown whether the ancestors 
of these were Hopi or Zuni. I believe it will be found that they were 
both, or that when the villages along the Colorado Chiquito 1 were 

'An exhaustive report on the ruins near Winslow, at the Sunset Crossing of the Little Colorado, 
will later be published. These ruins were the sites of my operations in the summer of 1896, and 
from them a very large collection of prehistoric objects was taken. The report will consider also the 
ruins at Chaves Pass, on the trail of migration used by the Hopi in prehistoric times in their visits, 
for barter and other purposes, to the Gila-Salado watershed. 




574 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


abandoned part of the inhabitants went to the mesas of Tusayan and 
others migrated farther up the river to the Zuni villages. 

Two centers of distribution of cliff houses occur in our Southwest: 
those of the upper tributaries of the Colorado in the north and the cliff 
houses of the affluents of the Salt and the Gila in the south. The 
watershed of the Bio Grande is, so far as is known, destitute of this 
kind of aboriginal dwellings. Between the two centers of distribution 
lie the pueblos of the Little Colorado and its tributaries, the home of 
the ancestors of the Hopi and the Zuni. The many resemblances 
between the cliff houses of the north and those of the south indicate 
that the stage of culture of both was uniform, and probably the same 
conditions of environment led both peoples to build similar dwellings. 
All those likenesses which can be found between the modern Zufii and 
the Ilopi to the former cliff - peoples of the San Juan region in the 
north, apply equally to those of the upper Salado and the Gila and 
their tributaries to the south; and so far as arguments of a northern 
origin of either, built on architectural or technological resemblances, 
are concerned, they are not conclusive, since they are also applicable to 
the cliff - peoples of the south. The one important difference between the 
northern and the southern tier of cliff houses is the occurrence of the cir¬ 
cular kiva, which has never been reported south of the divide between 
the Little Colorado and the Gila-Salado drainage. If a kiva was a 
feature in southern cliff houses, which I doubt, it appears to have been 
a rectangular chamber similar to a dwelling room. The circular kiva 
exists in neither the modern Hopi nor the Zuni pueblos, and it has not 
been found in adjacent Tusayan ruins; therefore, if these habitations 
were profoundly influenced by settlers from the north, it is strauge 
that such a radical change in the form of this room resulted. The 
arguments advanced that one of the two component stocks of the Zuni, 
and that the aboriginal, came from the cliff peoples of the San Juan, 
are not conclusive, although I have no doubt that the Zuni may have 
received increment from that direction. 

Cushing has, I believe, furnished good evidence that some of the 
ancestors of the Zuni population came from the south and southwest; 
and that some of these came from pueblos now in ruins on the Little 
Colorado is indicated by the great similarity in the antiquities of 
ancient Zuni and the Colorado Chiquito ruins. Part of the Patki peo¬ 
ple of the Hopi went to Zufii and part to Tusayan, from the same 
abandoned pueblo, and the descendants of this family in Walpi still 
recognize this ancient kinship; but I do not know, and so far as can 
be seen there is no way of determining, the relative antiquity of the 
pueblos in Zufii valley and those on the lower Colorado. 

The approximate date of the immigration of the Patki people to 
Tusayan is as yet a matter of conjecture. It may have been in prehis¬ 
toric times, or more likely at a comparatively late period in the history 
of the people. It seems well substantiated, however, that when this 




FEWKE8] 


EVOLUTION OF THE KIVA 


575 


Water-house people joined the other Hopi, the latter inhabited pueblos 
and were to all intents a pueblo people. If this hypothesis be a correct 
one, the Snake, Horn, and Bear peoples, whom the southern colonists 
found in Tusayan, had a culture of their own similar to that of the peo¬ 
ple from the south. Whence that culture came must be determined by 
studies of the component clans of the ETopi before the arrival of the 
Patki people. 1 

The origin of the round shape of the estufa, according to Norden- 
skidld (p. ICS), is most easily explained on the hypothesis that it is a 
reminiscence of the cliff-dwellers’ nomadic period. “ There must be 
some very cogent reason for the employment of this shape,” he says, 
“for the construction of a cylindrical chamber within a block of 
rectangular rooms involves no small amount of labor. We know how 
obstinately primitive nations cling to everything connected with their 
religious ideas. Then what is more natural than the retention, for the 
room where religious ceremonies were performed, of the round shape 
characteristic of the original dwelling place, the nomadic hut! This 
assumption is further corroborated by the situation of the hearth and 
the structure of the roof of the estufa, when we find points of analogy 
to the method employed by certain nomadic Indians in the erection of 
their huts.” This theory of the origin of the round form of dwelling 
and its retention in the architecture of the kiva, advanced by Norden- 
skiold in 1893, has much in its favor, but the rectangular form, which, 
so far as known, is the only shape of these sacred rooms in the Tusayan 
region, is still unexplained. From Castaneda’s narrative of the Coro¬ 
nado expedition it appears that in the middle of the sixteenth century 
the eastern pueblos had both square and round estufas or kivas, and 
that these kivas belonged to the men while the rooms of the pueblo were 
in the possession of the women. The apparent reason why we find no 
round rooms or kivas in the southern cliff houses and in Tusayan may 
be due to several causes. Local conditions, including the character of 
the building sites on the Hopi mesa, made square rooms more practical, 
or the nomadic stage was so far removed that the form of the inclosure 
in which the ancients held their rites had not been preserved. More¬ 
over, some of the most ancient and secret observances at Walpi, as the 
Flute ceremony, are not performed in special kivas, but take place in 
ordinary living rooms. 

As in all the other ruins of Verde valley, circular kivas are absent in 
the Bed-rock country, and this fact, which has attracted the attention 
of several observers, is, I believe, very significant. Although as yet 
our knowledge of the cliff houses of the upper Gila and Salado and 
their numerous tributaries is very fragmentary, and generalization on 

■Possibly the Slioshonean elements in Hopi linguistics are due to the Snake peoples, the early colo 
nists who came from the north, where they may have been in contact with Paiute or other divisions 
of the Shoshonean stock. The consanguinity of this phratry may have been close to that of the Slio- 
8honean tribes, as that of the Patki was to the Piman, or the Asa to the Tanoan. The present Hopi 
are a composite people, and it is yet to be demonstrated which stock predominates in them. 


576 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH.ANN. 17 


that account unsafe, it may be stated provisionally that no circular 
kivas have yet been found in any ruins of the Gila-Salado watershed. 
This form of kiva, however, is an essential feature of the cliff’dwellings 
of Eio Colorado, especially of those along its affluents in southern 
Colorado and northern New Mexico. Roughly speaking, then, the cir¬ 
cular kiva is characteristic of the ruins of this region and of certain 
others in the valley of the Rio Grande, where they still survive in 
inhabited pueblos. 

Circular ruins likewise are limited in their distribution in the South¬ 
west, and it is an interesting fact that the geographic distribution of 
ancient pueblos of this form is in a general way the same as that of 
circular kivas. There are, of course, mauy exceptions, but so far as I 
know these can readily be explained. No ruins of circular dwellings 
occur in the Gila-Salado drainage area, where likewise no circular 
kivas have been observed. Moreover, the circular form of dwelling 
and kiva is distinctively characteristic of prehistoric peoples east of 
Tusayan, and the few instances of their occurrence on its eastern 
border can readily be explained as extra-Hopi. 

The explanation of these circular kivas advanced by Nordeuskibld 
and the Mindeleffs, that they are survivals of round habitations of 
nomads, has much to commend it; but whether sufficient or not, the 
geographic limitation of these structures tells in favor of the absence 
of any considerable migration of the prehistoric peoples of the upper 
Colorado and Rio Grande watersheds southward into the drainage area 
of the Gila-Salado. Had the migration been in that direction it may 
readily be believed that the round kiva and the circular form of dwelling 
would have been brought with it. 

The round kiva has been regarded as a survival of the form of the 
original homes of the nomad, when he became a sedentary agriculturist 
by conquest aud marriage. 

The presence of rectangular kivas in the same areas in which round 
kivas occur does not necessarily militate against this theory, nor does 
it oblige us to offer an explanation of a necessarily radical change in 
architecture if we would derive it from a circular form. It would 
indeed be very unusual to find such a change in a structure devoted to 
religious purposes where conservatism is so strong. The rectangular 
kiva is the ancient form, or rather the original form; the round kiva is 
not a development from it, but an introduction from an alien people. It 
never penetrated southward of the Colorado and upper Rio Grande 
drainage areas because the element which introduced it in the north 
was never strong enough to influence the house builders of the Gila- 
Salado and tributary valleys. 


RUINS IN TUSAYAN 
General Features 

No region of our Southwest presents more instructive antiquities than 
the ancient province of Tusayan, more widely known as the Moki res¬ 
ervation. In the more limited use of the term, Tusayan is applied to 
the immediate surroundings of the Hopi pueblos, to which “province” 
it was given in the middle of the sixteenth century. In a broader sense 
the name would include an as yet unbounded country claimed by the 
component clans of this people as the homes of their ancestors. 

The general character and distribution of Tusayan ruins (plate xyi) 
has been ably presented by Mr Victor Mindeleff in a previous report. 1 
While this memoir is not regarded as exhaustive, it considers most of 
the large ruins in immediate proximity to the three mesas on which 
the pueblos inhabited by the Hopi are situated. It is not my purpose 
here to consider all Tusayan ruins, even if I were able to do so, but 
to supplement with additional data the observations already published 
on two of the most noteworthy pueblo settlements. Broadly speaking, 
I have attempted archeological excavations in order to obtain more light 
on the nature of prehistoric life in Tusayan. It may be advantageous, 
however, to refer briefly to some of the ruins thus far discovered in the 
Tusayan region as preliminary to more systematic descriptions of the 
two which I have chosen for special description. 

The legends of the surviving Hopi contain constant references to 
former habitations of different clans in the country round about their 
present villages. These clans, which by consolidation make up the pres¬ 
ent population of the Hopi pueblos, are said to have originally entered 
Tusayan from regions as far eastward as the Rio Grande, and from the 
southern country included within the drainage of the Gila, the Salt, 
and their affluents. Other increments are reputed to have come from 
the northward and the westward, so that the people we now find in 
Tusayan are descendants from an aggregation of stocks from several 
directions, some of them having migrated from considerable distances. 
Natives of other regions have settled among the ancient Hopi, built 
pueblos, and later returned to their former homes; and the Hopi in 
turn have sent colonists into the eastern pueblo country. 

These legends of former movements of the tribal clans of Tusayan 
are supplemented and supported by historical documents, and we know 
from this evidence that there has been a continual interchange between 
the people of Tusayan and almost every large pueblo of New Mexico and 
Arizona. Some of the ruins of this region were abandoned in historic 
times; others are prehistoric; many were simply temporary halting 

'A Study of Pueblo Architecture: Tusayan and Cibola; Eighth Annual Report of the Bureau of 
Ethnology, 1886-87. 

17 ETH, PT 2-8 


- 577 





578 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


places in Hopi migrations, and were abandoned as the clans drifted 
together in friendship or destroyed as a result of internecine conflicts. 

There is documentary evidence that in the years following the great 
rebellion of the Tueblo tribes in 1680, which were characterized by 
catastrophes of all kinds among the Rio Grande villagers, many 
Tanoan people fled to Tusayau to escape from their troubles. Accord¬ 
ing to Kiel, 4,000 Tanoan refugees, under Frasquillo, loaded with booty 
which they had looted from the churches, went to Oraibi by way of 
Zuni, and there established a “kingdom,” with their chief as ruler. 
How much reliance may be placed on this account is not clear to me, 
but there is no doubt that many Tanoan people joined the Hopi about 
this time, and among them were the Asa people, the ancestors of the 
present inhabitants of Hauo pueblo, and probably the accoleuts of 
Payiipki. The ease with which two Franciscan fathers, in 1742, per¬ 
suaded 441 of these to return to the Rio Grande, implies that they were 
not very hostile to Christianity, and it is possible that one reason they 
sought Tusayan in the years after the Spaniards were expelled may 
have been their friendship for the church party. 

With the exception of Oraibi, not one of the present inhabited 
pueblos of Tusayan occupies the site on which it stood in the sixteenth 
century, and the majority of them do not antedate the beginning of 
the eighteenth century. The villages have shifted their positions but 
retained their names. 

At the time of the advent of Tobar, in 1540, there was but one of the 
present three villages of East Mesa. This was Walpi, and at the period 
referred to it was situated on the terrace below the site of the present 
town, near the northwestern base of the mesa proper. Two well-defined 
ruins, called Kisakobi and Kuchaptiivela, are now pointed out as the 
sites of Old Walpi. Of these Kuchaptiivela is regarded as the older. 

Judging by their ruins these towns were of considerable size. From 
their exposed situation they were open to the inroads of predatory 
tribes, aud from these hostile raids their abandonment became neces¬ 
sary. From Kiichaptiivela the ancient Walpiaus moved to a point higher 
on the mesa, nearer its western limit, and built Kisakobi, where the 
pueblo stood in the seventeenth century. There is evidence that a Span¬ 
ish mission was erected at this point, and the place is sometimes called 
Kushaki, a corruption of “Missa-ki,” Mass-house. From this place the 
original nucleus of Walpiaus moved to the present site about the close 
of the seventeenth century. Later the original population was joined 
by other phratries, some of which, as the Asa, had lived in the elifif- 
houses of Tsegi, or Canyon de Chelly, as late as the beginning of 
the eighteenth century. This, however, is not the place to trace the 
composition of the different modern villages. 

Sichomovi was a colony from Walpi, founded about 1750, aud Hano 
was built not earlier than 1700. The former was settled by the Badger 
people, later joined by a group of Tanoan clans called the Asa, from 


fewkes] THE HOPI PUEBLOS IN 1782 579 

the Rio Grande, who were invited to Tusayau to aid the Hopi in resist¬ 
ing the invasions of northern nomads. 

By the middle of the eighteenth century the popufation of the prov¬ 
ince of Tusayan was for the first time distributed in the seven pueblos 
now inhabited. No village has been deserted since that time, nor has 
any new site been occupied. 

In order that the reader may have an idea of the Tusayan pueblos 
at the time mentioned, an account of them from a little-known descrip¬ 
tion by Morfi in 1782 is introduced: 1 

MorjVs account of the Tusayan pueblos 

Quarenta y seis leguas al Poniente tie Zufii, con alguna inclinaciou al N. O. estdn 
los tres primeros pueblos de la proviucia de Moqui, que en el dia eii el corto distrito 
de leguas (112 recto) tiene siete pueblos en tres mesas 6 petioles que corren linea 
recta de Oriente ti Poniente. 

Tanos 2 

En la punta occidental de la primera, y en la mas estrecbo de su eminencia estiin 
situados tres de los quales el primero es el de Tanos (alii dicen Tegiias), cuyas mora- 
dores tienen idioma particular y distinto del Moquino. Es pueblo regular con un 
plaza en el centro, y un formaeion de calles. Tendra 110 familias. 

El segundo 3 pueblo dista del precedente como un tiro de piedra, es de fundacion 
moderna, y se compondrti de mas 15 familias que se retirarou aqui de: 

Gualpi 

Gualpi que dista del anterior un tiro de fusil, es mas grande y populoso que los dos 
anteriores, puede tener bast a 200 familias. Estas tres pueblos tienen poco caballada, 
y algunas vacas; pero mucbo ganado lanar. 

Mosaanabi 4 

Al poniente de esta mesa, y it legua y media de distancia esttt la segunda, cuyo 
intermetlio es un (112 v.) arenal, que ertrando un poco en ella la divide en dos brazas. 
En el septentrional, que es el mas inmediata a Gualpi bay dos anillos distantes entre 
si un tiro de piedra. En la cima del primero est£i situado el pueblo de Mosasnabi 
compuesto de 50 familias poco mas 6 inenos. 

Xipaolabi 5 6 

En la cumbre del secundo cerrito se fundo el quinto pueblo llamado Xipaolabi, que 
tendrd solo 14 familias: estsi casi arruinado, porque sus vecinos se ban trasladado al 
brazo austral de la mesa y fonnaron el sexto pueblo llamado: 

Xongopabi B 

Xongopabi goza mejor situacion que todoslos demas, tienen tres quarteles mui bien 
dispuestos y en ellas unas 60 familias. Estos tres pueblos tienen mas caballada que 
los primeros y mucbo ganado meuor. 


1 This account was copied from a copy made by the eminent scholar, A. F. Bandelier, for I he archives 
of the Hemenway Expedition, now at the Peabody Museum, iu Cambridge, Massachusetts. 

2 llano or “ Tewa.” 

3 Sichomovi. In the manuscript report by Don Jos6 Cortez, who wrote of the northern provinces 
of Mexico, where he lived in 179!), Siehomovi is mentioned as a nameless village between Tanos (Hano) 
and Gualpi (Walpi), settled by colonists from the latter pueblo. One of the first references to this 
village by name was in a report by Indian Agent Calhoun (1850), where it is called Chemovi. 

4 Mishoninovi. 

5 Shipaulovi. 

6 Shunopovi. 




580 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


Oraybe 

Dos y media legtias al Poniente de esta mesa, esta la tercera, y en sucima el septimo 
pueblo que llaman Oraybe. Es como la capital de la provincia, el mayor y mas bien 
formado de toda ella, y acaso de todas las provincias internas. Tiene once quarteles 
6 manzanas bien largas y dispuestos con calles d cordel yd (113 r.) todos vientos, y 
puede llegar su poblacion a 800 familias. Tienen buena caballada, mucho ganado 
menor y algun vacuno. Aunque no gozan siuo una pequena fuente de buena agua, 
distaute del pueblo mas de una milla al Norte, ban construido para suplir esta escasez, 
en la misma mesa, y mui iumediato a las casas seis cisternas graudes donde recoger la 
agua de las lluvias y nieves. 

The distribution of the population of Tusayan in the seven pueblos 
mentioned above remained practically the same during the century 
"between 1782 and 1S82. Summer settlements for farming purposes 
were inhabited by the Oraibi for brief periods. Between the years 1880 
and 1890 a beginning of a new distribution of Hopi families began, 
when one or two of the less timid erected houses near Coyote spring, 
at the East Mesa. The Tewa, represented by Polaka and Jakwaina, 
took the lead in this movement. From 1890 to the present time a large 
number of Walpi, Sichomovi, and Hano families have built houses in 
the foothills of the East Mesa and in the plain beyond the ‘‘wash.” A 
large schoolhouse has been erected at Sun spring and a considerable 
number of East Mesa villagers have abandoned their mesa dwellings. 
In this shifting of the population the isolated house is always adopted 
and the aboriginal method of roof building is abandoned. The indica¬ 
tions are that in a few years the population of the East Mesa will be 
settled in unconnected farmhouses with little resemblance to the ancient 
communal pueblo. 

This movement is shared to a less extent by the Middle Mesa and 
Oraibi people. On my first visit to the pueblos of these mesas, in 1S90, 
there was not a single permanent dwelling save in the ancient pueblos; 
but n'ow numerous small farmhouses have been erected at or near the 
springs in the foothills. I mention these facts as a matter of record of 
progress in the life of these people in adapting themselves to the new 
conditions or influences by which they are surrounded. I believe that if 
this exodus of Hopi families from the old pueblo to the plain continues 
during the next two decades as it has in the last ten years, there are 
children now living in Walpi who will some day see it uninhabited. 

This disintegration of the Hopi phratries, by which families are sep¬ 
arated from one another, is, I believe, a return to the prehistoric distri¬ 
bution of the clans, and as Walpi grew into a pueblo by a union of 
kindred people, so now it is again being divided and distributed, still 
preserving family ties in new clusters or groupings. It is thus not 
impossible that the sites of certain old ruins, as Sikyatki, deserted for 
many years, will again be built upon if better suited for new modes of 
life. The settlement near Coyote spring, for instance, is not far from 
the old site of a former home of the Tanoan families, who went to 
Tusayau in the beginning of the eighteenth century, aud the people 


TUSAYAN RUINS CLASSIFIED 


PE WEES] 


581 


who inhabit these new houses are all Tanoau descendants of the 
original contingent. 

In order to become familiar with the general character of Tusayan 
ruins, I made a brief reconnoissance of those mentioned in the follow¬ 
ing list, from which I selected Awatobi and Sikyatki as places for a 
more exhaustive exploration. This list is followed by a brief mention 
of those which I believe would offer fair opportunities for a continua¬ 
tion of the work inaugurated. The ruins near Oraibi were not exam¬ 
ined and are therefore omitted, not that they are regarded as less 
important, but because I was unable to undertake a study of them in 
the limited time at my disposal. There are also many ruins in Tusa¬ 
yan, north of the inhabited pueblos, which have never been described, 
and would well repay extended investigation. Some of these, as the 
ruins at the sacred spring called Kishuba, are of the utmost traditional 
importance. 

I. Middle Mesa ruins —(1) Old Shunopovi; (2) Old MishoSinovi; 
(3) Shitaumu; (4) Ohukubi; (5) Payiipki. 

II. East Mesa ruins —(1) Kisakobi; (2) Kiichapttivela; (3) Kiikii- 
chomo; (4) Tukinobi; (5) Kachiuba; (6) Sikyatki. 

III. Ruins in Ream’s canyon. 

IV. Jeditoh valley ruins —(1) Bat-house; (2) Jeditoh, Kawaika; (3) 
Horn-house; (4) Awatobi; Smaller Awatobi. 

This method of classification is purely geographical, and is adopted 
simply for convenience; but there are one or two facts worthy of 
mention in regard to the distribution of ruins in these four sections. 
The inhabited pueblos, like the ruins, are, as a rule, situated on the 
eastern side of their respective mesas, or on the cliffs or hills which 
border the adjacent plains on the west. This uniformity is thought to 
have resulted from a desire to occupy a sunny site for warmth and 
for other reasons. 

The pueblos at or nearest the southern ends of the mesas were found 
to be best suited for habitation, consequently the present towns occupy 
those sites, or, as in the case of the Jeditoh series, the pueblo at that 
point was the last abandoned. The reason for this is thought to be an 
attempt to concentrate on the most inaccessible sites available, which 
implies inroads of hostile peoples. For the same reason, likewise, the 
tendency was to move from the foothills to the mesa tops when these 
invasions began. 

Early settlers near East Mesa appeared to have chosen exposed sites 
for their pueblos. This would imply that they feared no invasion, and 
legendary history indicates that the first pueblos were erected before 
the hostile Ute, Apache, and Navaho appeared. The early settlements 
on Middle Mesa were also apparently not made with au absorbing idea 
of inaccessibility. All the Jeditoh villages, however, were on the 
mesa tops, these sites having been selected evidently with a view to 
protection, since they were not convenient to the farms. 




582 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


For many reasons it would seem that the people who occupied the 
uow ruined Jeditoh villages were later arrivals in Tusayan than those 
of East and Middle Mesas, and that, as a rule, they came from the east¬ 
ward, while those of Middle Mesa arrived from the south. The first 
colonists of all, however, appear to have been the East Mesa clans, the 
Bear and Snake families. If this conjecture be true, we may believe 
that the oldest pueblos in Tusayan were probably the house groups of 
the Snake clan of East Mesa, for whom their traditionists claim a 
northern oiigin. 


The Middle Mesa Ruins 
shunopovi 

The site of Old Shunopovi (plate cv) at the advent of the first 
Spaniards, and for a century or more afterward, was at the foot of the 
mesa on which the present village stands. The site of the old pueblo 
is easily detected by the foundations of the ancient houses and their 
overturned walls, surrounded by mounds of soil filled with fragments 
of the finest pottery. 

The old village was situated on a ridge of foothills east of the pres¬ 
ent town and near the spring, which is still used. On the highest point 
of the ridge there rise to a considerable height the massive walls of the 
old Spanish mission church, forming an inclosure, now used as a sheep 
corral. The cemeteries are near by, close to the outer walls, and among 
a clump of peach trees about half a mile east of the old houses. The 
pottery, 1 as shown by the fragments, is of the finest old Tusayan ware, 
cream and red being the predominating colors, while fragments of coiled 
and black-and-white ware are likewise common. 

• MISHOXINOVI 

The ruins of Old Mishofiinovi lie west of the present pueblo in the 
foothills, not far from the two rocky pinnacles at that point and adja¬ 
cent to a spring. In strolling over the site of the old town I have noted 
its ground plan, and have picked up many sherds which indicate that 
the pottery made at that place was the fine cream-color ware for which 
Tusayan has always been famous. The site otters unusual opportunities 
for archeological studies, but excavatiou there is not practicable on 
account of the opposition of the chiefs. 

Old Mishofiinovi was a pueblo of considerable size, and was probably 
inhabited up to the close of the seventeenth century. It was probably 
on this site that the early Spanish explorers found the largest pueblo 
of the Middle Mesa. The ruin of Shitaimovi, in the foothills near 
Mishofiinovi, mentioned by Mindeleff, was not visited by our party. 

•In 1896 I collected over a hundred beautiful specimens from this cemetery. 


* 










































■ 


. 





































































BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY. __ SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL.CV 

































FEWKES] 


MIDDLE MESA RUINS 


583 


CHTTKUBI 

The ruin of Chukubi bears every evidence of antiquity. It is situ¬ 
ated on one of the eastward projecting spurs of Middle Mesa, midway 
between Payiipki and Shipaulovi, near an excellent spring at the base 
of the mesa. 

Chukubi was built in rectangular form, with a central plaza sur¬ 
rounded by rooms, two deep. There are many indications of outlying- 
chambers, some of which are arranged in rows. The house walls are 
almost wholly demolished, and in far poorer state of preservation than 
those of the neighboring ruin of Payiipki. The evidence now obtain¬ 
able indicates that it was an ancient habitation of a limited period of 
occupancy. It is said to have been settled by the Patuii or Squash 
people, whose original home was far to the south, on Little Colorado 
river. A fair ground plan is given by Mindeleff in his memoir on 
Pueblo Architecture; but so far as known no studies of the pottery of 
this pueblo have ever been made. 

PAYUPKI 

One of the best-preserved ruins on Middle Mesa is called Payiipki 
by the Hopi, and is interesting in connection with the traditions of 
the migration of peoples from the Rio Grande, which followed the 
troublesome years at the close of the seventeenth century. In the 
reconquest of New Mexico by the Spaniards we can hardly say that 
Tusayan was conquered; the province was visited and nominally sub¬ 
jugated after the great rebellion, but with the exception of repeated 
expeditions, which were often repulsed, the Hopi were practically inde¬ 
pendent and were so regarded. No adequate punishment was indicted 
on the inhabitants of Walpi for the destruction of the town of Awatobi, 
and although there were a few military expeditions to Tusayan no effort 
at subjugation was seriously made. 

Tusayan was regarded as an asylum for the discontented or apos¬ 
tate, and about the close of the seventeenth century many people from 
the Rio Grande fled there for refuge. Some of these refugees appear 
to have founded pueblos of their own; others were amalgamated with 
existing villages. Payiipki seems to have been founded about this 
period, for we find no account of it before this time, and it is not men¬ 
tioned in connection with ancient migrations. In 1706 Holguin is said 
to have attacked the “Tauos” village between Walpi and Oraibi and 
forced the inhabitants to give hostages, but he was later set upon by 
the Tano and driven back to Zuni. It would hardly seem possible that 
the pueblo mentioned could have beeu Hano, for this village does not 
lie between Oraibi aud Walpi and could not have been surrounded in 
the way indicated in the account. Payiipki, however, not only lay on 
the trail between Walpi aud Oraibi—about midway, as the chronicler 


584 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


states—but was so situated on a projecting promontory that it could 
easily have been surrounded and isolated from the other pueblos. 

The Hopi Legends definitely assert that the Payiipki people came from 
the “great river,” the Eio Grande, and spoke a language allied to that 
of the people of Hano. They were probably apostates, who came from 
the east about 1680, but did not seem to agree well with the people of 
the Middle Mesa, and about 1750 returned to the river and were domi¬ 
ciled in Sandia, where their descendants still live. The name Payiipki 
is applied by the Hopi to the pueblo of Sandia as well as to the ruin on 
the Middle Mesa. The general appearance of the ruin of Payiipki indi¬ 
cates that it was not long inhabited, and that it was abandoned at a 
comparatively recent date. The general plan is not that common to 
ancient Tusayan ruins, but more like that of Hano and Sichomovi, 
which were erected about the time Payiipki was built. Many frag¬ 
ments of a kind of pottery which in general appearance is foreign to 
Tusayan, but which resembles the Rio Grande ware, were found on the 
mounds, and the walls are better preserved than those of the ancient 
Tusayan ruins. 

A notable absence of fragments of obsidian, the presence of which 
in abundance is characteristic of ancient ruins, was observed on the 
site of Payiipki. All these evidences substantiate the Hopi legend 
that the Tauoan inhabitants of the village of Middle Mesa, above the 
trail from Walpi to Oraibi, made but a short stay in Tusayan. 1 

There is good documentary evidence that Sandia was settled by 
Tanoan people from Tusayan. Morfi in 1782 so states, 2 and in a copy 
of the acts of possession of the pueblo grants of 1718 we find still 
further proof of the settlement of “Moquinos” in Sandia. 3 

When Otermin returned to £few Mexico in his attempted reconquest, 
in 1681, he reached Isleta on December 6, and on the 8th Dominguez 
encamped in sight of Sandia, but found the inhabitants had fled. The 
discord following this event drove the few surviving families of the 
Tiwa on their old range to Tusayan, for they were set upon by Keres 
and Jemez warriors on the plea that they received back the Spaniards. 
Possibly these families formed the nucleus of Payiipki. It was about 
this time, also, if we can believe Kiel’s story, that 4,000 Tanos went to 
Tusayan. It would thus appear that the Hopi Payiipki was settled in 
the decade 1680-1690. 

1 There lived in Walpi, years ago, an old woman, who related to a priest, who repeated the story to 
the writer, that when a little girl she remembered seeing the Payiipki people pass along the valley 
nnder Walpi when they returned to the Rio Grande. Her story is quite probable, for the lives of two 
aged persons could readily bridge the interval between that event and our own time. 

2 "La Missionde X. Sra. de las Dolores de Zandia deIndies Teguas & Moqui.” 

3 See J. F. Meline, Two Thousand Miles on Horseback, 1867. Sandia, according to Bancroft, is 
not mentioned by Menchero in 1744, but Bonilla gave it a population of 400 Indians in 1749. In 1742 
two friars visited Tusayan, and, it is said, brought out 441 apostate Tigttas, who were later settled in 
the old pueblo of Sandia. Considering, then, that Sandia was resettled in 1748, six years after this 
visit, and that the numbers so closely coincide, we have good evidence that rayiipki, in Tusayan, 
was abandoned about 1742. It is probable, from known evidence, that this pueblo was built some¬ 
where between 1680 and 1690; so that the whole period of its occupancy was not far from fifty years. 





FEWKES] 


FORMER SITES OF WALPI 


585 


The East Mesa Euins 

KUCHAPTUVELA AND KISAKOBI 

The two ruins of Kiichaptiivela and Ivisakobi mark the sites of Walpi 
during the period of Spanish exploration and occupancy between 1540 
and 1700. The former was the older. In all probability the latter had 
a mission church and was inhabited at the time of the great rebellion 
in 1GS0, having been founded about fifty years previously. 

The former or more ancient 1 pueblo was situated on the first or lowest 
terrace of East Mesa, below the present pueblo, on the northern and 
western sides. The name Kiichaptiivela signifies “ Ash-hill terrace,” 
and probably the old settlement, like the modern, was known as Walpi, 
“ Place-of-the-gap,” referring to the gap or notch ( wala ) in the mesa 
east of Hano. 

Old Walpi is said to have been abandoned because it was in the shade 
of the mesa, but doubtless the true cause of its removal was that the 
site was too much exposed, commanded as it was by the towering mesa 
above it, and easily approached on three sides. The Walpi which was 
contemporary with Sikyatki was built in an exposed location, for at 
that time the Hopi were comparatively secure from invaders. Later, 
however, Apache, Ute, and Navaho began to raid their fields, and the 
Spaniards came in their midst again and again, forcing them to work 
like slaves. A more protected site was necessary, and late in the 
seventeenth century the Walpians began to erect houses on the mesa, 
which formed the nucleus of the present town. The standing walls of 
Old Walpi are buried in the debris, but the plans of the rooms may 
readily be traced. Comparatively speaking, it was a large, compact, 
well-built pueblo, and, from the great piles of debris in the neighbor¬ 
hood, would seem to have been occupied during several generations. 

The pottery found in the neighborhood is the fine, ancient Tusayan 
ware, like that of Sikyatki and Shuuopovi. Extended excavations 
would reveal, I am sure, many beautiful objects and shed considerable 
light on the obscure history of Walpi and its early population. 

After moving from Old Walpi it seems that the people first built 
houses on the terrace above, or on the platform extending westward 
from the western limits of the summit of East Mesa. The whole top of 
that part of the mesa is covered with house walls, showing the former 
existence of a large pueblo. Here, no doubt, if we can trust tradition, 
the mission of Walpi was built, and I have found in the debris frag¬ 
ments of pottery similar to that used in Mexico, and very different from 

1 Mmdeleff mentions two other sites of Old Walpi—a mound near Wala, and one in the plain between 
Mishoninovi and Walpi; but neither of these is large, although claimed as former sites of the 
early clans which later built the town on the terrace of East Mesa below Walpi. I have regarded 
Jvueliaptuvela as the ancient Walpi, but have no doubt that the Hopi emigrants had several tempo¬ 
rary dwellings before they settled there. 




586 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


ancient or modern Pueblo ware. But even Kisakobi 1 was not a safe 
site for tlie Walpians to choose for their village, so after they destroyed 
the mission and killed the priest they moved up to their present site 
and abandoned both of their former villages. 

It is said that with this removal of the villagers there were found to 
be no easy means of climbing the precipitous walls, and that the stairway 
trails were made as late as the beginning of the present century. In 
those early days there was a ladder near where the stairway trail is 
now situated, and some of the older men of Walpi have pointed out to 
me where this ladder formerly stood. 

The present plan of Walpi shows marked differences from that made 
twenty years ago, and several houses between the stairway trail and 
the Wikwaliobi kiva, on the edge of the mesa, which have now fallen 
into ruin, were inhabited when I first visited Walpi in 1890. The build¬ 
ings between the Snake kiva and the Xacab kiva are rapidly becoming 
unsafe for habitation, and most of these rooms will soon be deserted. 
As many Walpi families are building new houses on the plai. it needs 
no prophet to predict that the desertion of the present site of Walpi 
will progress rapidly in the next few years, and possibly by the end of 
our generation the pueblo may be wholly deserted—one more ruin 
added to the multitudes in the Southwest. 

The site of Old Walpi, at Kiichaptiivela, is the scene of an interesting 
rite in the Xew-fire ceremony at Walpi, for not far from it is a shriue 
dedicated to a supernatural being called Tiiwapontumsi, “Earth-altar- 
woman.” This shrine, or house, as it is called, is about 230 feet from 
the ruin, among the neighboring bowlders, and consists of four flat slabs 
set upright, forming an inclosure in which stands a log of fossil wood. 

The ceremonials at Old Walpi in the New-fire rites are described in 
my account 2 of this observance, and from their nature I suspect that 
the*essential part of this episode is the deposit of offerings at this 
shriue. The circuits about the old ruin are regarded as survivals of 
the rites which took place in former times at Old Walpi. The ruin was 
spoken of in the ceremony as the Sipapiini, the abode of the dead who 
had become katcinas, to whom the prayers said in the circuits were 
addressed. 

KUKUCHOMO 

The two conical mounds on the mesa above Sikyatki are often 
referred to that ancient pueblo, but from their style of architecture and 
from other considerations I am led to connect them with other plira- 
tries of Tusayan. From limited excavations made in these mounds in 
1891,1 was led to believe that they were round pueblos, similar to those 

1 Sometimes called Niisaki, a corruption of “Missaki,” .Mass House, Mission. One of tlie beams of the 
old mission at Niisaki or Kisakobi is in the roof of Pauwatiwa’s house in the highest range of rooms 
of Walpi. This beam is nicely squared, and bears marks indicativo of carving. There are also large 
planks in one of the kivas which were also probably from the church building, although no one has 
stated that they are. Panwatiwa, however, declares that a legend has been handed down in his family 
that the above-mentioned rafter came from the mission. 

2 Proceedings of the Poston Society of Natural History, January 2, 1895, p. 441. 





BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT FL. CVI 





\ 


THE RUINS OF KUKUCHOMO 
















FEWKES] 


THE RUIN OF KUKUCHOMO 


587 


east of Tusayan, and that they were temporary habitations, possibly 
vantage points, occupied for defense. Plate cvi illustrates their gen¬ 
eral appearance, while the rooms of which they are composed are shown 
in figure 253. At the place where the mesa narrows between these 
mounds and the pueblos to the west, a wall was built from one edge of 
the mesa to the other to defend the trail on this side. This wall appears 
to have had watch towers or houses at intervals, which are now in ruins, 
as shown in figure 254. 



]Fig. 253—Kiikiiehomo 


The legends concerning the ancient inhabitants of Kiikiiehomo are 
conflicting. The late A. M. Stephen stated that tradition ascribes them 
to the Coyote and Pikya (Corn) peoples, with whom the denizens of 
Sikyatki made friendship, and whom the latter induced to settle there 
to protect them from the Walpians. He regarded them as the last 
arrivals of the Water-house phratry, while the Coyote people came from 
the north at nearly the same time. From his account it would appear 
that the twin mounds, Kiikiiehomo, were abandoned before the destruc¬ 
tion of Sikyatki. The Coyote people were, I believe, akin to the Kokop 













588 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. AOTf. 17 


or Firewood phratry, and as the pueblo of Sikyatki was settled by the 
latter, it is highly probable that the inhabitants of the two villages were 
friendly and naturally combined against the Snake pueblo of Walpi. I 
believe, however, there is some doubt that any branch of the Patki 
people settled in Kukiichomo, and the size of the town as indicated by 
the ruin was hardly large enough to accommodate more than one clan. 
Still, as there are two Kiikiichomo ruins, there may have been a differ¬ 
ent family in each of the two house clusters. 

It has been said that in ancient times, before the twin mounds of 
Kukiichomo were erected, the people of Sikyatki were greatly har¬ 
assed by the young slingers and archers of Walpi, who would come 

-----—-ppHj 





Fig. 254—Defensive wall on the East Mesa 


across to the edge of the high cliff and assail them with impunity. 
Anyone, however, who contemplates the great distance from Sikyatki 
to the edge of the mesa may well doubt whether it was possible for the 
Walpi bowmen to inflict much harm in that way. 

Moreover, if the word “slingers” is advisedly chosen, it introduces a 
kind of warfare which is not mentioned in other Tusayan legends, 
although apparently throwing stones at their enemies was practiced 
among Pueblos of other stocks in early historic times. 1 

1 Thus in Castaneda’s account we aro told: “ Farther off [near Cia?] was another large village where 
we found in the courtyards a great number of stone balls of the size of a leather bag, containing one 
arroba. They seem to have been cast with the aid of machines, and to have been employed in the 
destruction of the village.” It is needless for me to say that I find no knowledge of such a machine 
in Tusayan! 









FEWKES] 


EAST MESA RUINS DESCRIBED 


589 


We may suppose, however, that the survivors of both Kiikiichomo 
and Sikyatki sought refuge in Awatobi after the prehistoric destruction 
of their pueblos, for both were peopled by clans which came from the 
east, and naturally went to that village, the founders of which migrated 
from the same direction. 

KACHINBA 

The small ruin at Kachinba, the halting place of the Kachina people, 
seems to have escaped the attention of students of Tusayan archeology. 
It lies about six miles from Sikyatki, about east of Walpi, and is 
approached by following the trail at the foot of the same mesa upon 
which Kiikiichomo is situated. The ruin is located on a small foothill 
and has a few standing walls. It was evidently diminutive in size and 
only temporarily inhabited. The best wall found at this ruin lies at 
the base of the hill, where the spring formerly was. This spring is 
now tilled in, but a circular wall of masonry indicates its great size in 
former times. 

TUKINOBI 

There are evidences that the large hill on top of East Mesa, not far 
from the twin mounds, was once the site of a pueblo of considerable size, 
but I have not been able to gather any definite legend about it. Near 
this ruin is the “Eagle shrine” in which round wooden imitations of eagle 
eggs are ceremonially deposited, and in the immediate vicinity of which 
is another shrine near which tracks are cut in the rock, and which were 
evidently considered by the Indian who pointed them out to me as 
having been made bv some bird. 1 It is probably from these footprints, 
which are elsewhere numerous, that the two ruins called Kiikiichomo 
(“footprints mound”) takes its name. 

Jeditoh Valley Ruins 

As one enters Antelope valley, following the Holbrook road, he finds 
himself in what was formerly a densely populated region of Tusayan. 
This valley in former times was regarded as a garden spot, and the plain 
was covered with patches of corn, beans, squashes, and chile. The former 
inhabitants lived in pueblos on the northern side, high up on the mesa 
which separates Jeditoh valley from Ream’s canyon. All of these 
pueblos are now in ruins, and only a few Navaho and Hopi families 
cultivate small tracts in the once productive fields. 

The majority of the series of ruins along the northern rim of Antelope 
valley resemble Awatobi, which is later described in detail. It is inter¬ 
esting to note that in the abandonment of villages the same law appears 
to have prevailed here as in the other Tusayan mesas, for in the shrink¬ 
age of the Hopi people they concentrated more and more to the points 
of the mesas. Thus, at East Mesa, Sikyatki, Kachinba, and Kiikiichomo 

* The ceremonials attending to burial of the eagle, whose plumes are used in secret rites, have never 
been described, and nothing is known of the rites about the Eagle shrine at Tukinobi. 






590 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


were destroyed, while Walpi remained. At Middle Mesa, Chukubi and 
Paytipki became ruins, and in Antelope valley Awatobi was the last of 
the Jeditoh series to fall. There has thus been a gradual tendency to 
drift from readily accessible locations to the most impregnable sites, 
which indicates how severely the Hopi must have been harassed by 
their foes. It is significant that some of the oldest pueblos were origi¬ 
nally built in the most exposed positions, and it may rightly be con¬ 
jectured that the pressure on the villagers came long after these sites 
were chosen. The ancient or original Hopi had a sense of security when 
they built their first houses, and they, therefore, did not find it neces¬ 
sary to seek the protection of cliffs. Many of them lived in the valley 
of the Colorado Obiquito, others at Kishnba. As time went on, however, 
they were forced, as were their kindred in other pueblos, to move to 
inaccessible mesas guarded by vertical cliffs. 

Of the several ruins of Antelope valley, that on the mesa above 
Jeditoh or Antelope spring is one of the largest and most interesting. 
Stephen calls this ruin Mishiptouga, and a plan of the old house is 
given by Mindeleff. 

The spring called Kawaika, situated near the former village of the 
same name, was evidently much used by the ancient accolents of Ante¬ 
lope valley. From this neighborhood there was excavated a few years 
ago a beautiful collection of ancient mortuary pottery objects, which 
was purchased by Mrs Mary Hemenway, of Boston, and is now in the 
Peabody Museum at Cambridge. These objects have never been ade¬ 
quately described, although a good illustration of some of the speci¬ 
mens, with a brief reference thereto, was published by James Mooney 1 
a few years ago. 

Among the most striking objects in this collection are clay models 
of houses, dishes, and small vases with rims pierced with holes, and 
rectangular vessels ornamented with pictures of birds. There are 
specimens of cream, yellow, red, and white pottery in the collection 
which, judging by the small size of most of the specimens, was 
apparently votive in character. 

The ruins called by Stephen “Horn-house” and “Bat-house,” as well 
as the smaller ruin between them, have been described by Mindeleff, 
who has likewise published plans of the first two From their general 
appearance I should judge they were not occupied for so long a time 
as Awatobi, and by a population considerably smaller. If all these 
Jeditoh pueblos were built by peoples from the Bio Grande, it is possible 
that those around Jeditoh spring were the first founded and that 
Awatobi was of later construction; but from the data at hand the 
relative age of the ruins of this part of Tusayau can not be determined. 

There are mauy ruins situated on the periphery of Tusayau which 
are connected traditionally with the Hopi, but are not here mentioned. 
Of these, the so-called “ Fire-liouse” is said to have been the home of 


•Recent Archeologic Findin Arizona, American Anthropologist, Washington, July, 1893. 






FEWKES] 


IMPORTANCE OF AWATOBI AND SIKYATKI 


591 


the ancestors of Sikyatki, and Kiutiel of certain Zufii people akin to 
the Hopi. Botli of the ruins mentioned differ in their architectural 
features from characteristic prehistoric Tusayan ruins, for they are cir¬ 
cular in form, as are many of the ruins in the middle zone of the pueblo 
area. W ith these exceptions there are no circular ruins within the area 
over which the Hopi lay claim, and it is probable that the accolents of 
Kintiel were more Zufii than Hopi in kinship. 

Many ruins north of Oraibi and in the neighborhood of the farming 
village of Moenkopi are attributed to the Hopi by their traditionists. 
The ruins about Kishyuba, connected with the Kachiua people, also 
belong to Tusayan. These and many others doubtless offer most impor¬ 
tant contributions to an exact knowledge of the prehistoric migrations 
of this most interesting people. 

Among the many Tusayan ruins which offer good facilities for arche¬ 
ological work, the two which I chose for that purpose are Awatobi 
and Sikyatki. My reasons for this choice may briefly be stated. 

Awatobi is a historic pueblo of the Hopi, which was more or less 
under Spanish influence between the years 1540 and 1700. When 
properly investigated, in the light of archeology, it ought to present a 
good picture of Tusayan life before the beginning of the modifications 
which appear in the modern villages of that isolated province. While 
I expected to find evidences of Spanish occupancy, 1 also sought facts 
bearing on the character of Tusayan life in the seventeenth century. 

Sikyatki, however, showed us the character of Tusayan life in the 
fifteenth century, or the unmodified aboriginal pueblo culture of this 
section of the Southwest. Here we expected to find Hopi culture 
unmodified by Spanish influence. 

The three pueblos of Sikyatki, Awatobi, and Walpi, when properly 
studied, will show the condition of pueblo culture in three centuries— 
in Sikyatki, pure, unmodified pueblo culture; in Awatobi, pueblo life 
as slightly modified by the Spaniards, and in Walpi, those changes 
resulting from the advent of Americans superadded. While special 
attention has thus far been given by ethnologists mainly to the last- 
mentioued pueblo, a study of the ruins of the other two villages is of 
great value in showing how the modern life developed and what part 
of it is due to foreign influence. 

A knowledge of the inner life of the inhabitants of Tusayan as it 
exists today is a necessary prerequisite to the interpretation of the 
ancient culture of that province; but we must always bear iu mind the 
evolution of society and the influences of foreign origin which have 
been exerted on it. Many, possibly the majority, of modern customs 
at Walpi are inherited, but others are incorporated and still others, of 
ancient date, have become extinct. 

As much stress is laid iu this memoir on the claim that objects from 
Sikyatki indicate a culture uninfluenced by the Spaniards, it is well to 
present the evidence on which this assertion is based. 


592 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


(1) Hopi legends all declare that Sikyatki was destroyed before the 
Spaniards, called the “long-gowned” and “iron-shirted” men, came to 
Tusayan. (2) Sikyatki is not mentioned by name in any documentary 
account of Tnsayau, although the other villages are named and are 
readily identifiable with existing pueblos. (3) iso fragment of glass, 
metal, or other object indicative of the contact of European civilization 
was found anywhere in the ruin. If we add to the above the general 
appearance of age in the mounds and the depth of the debris which 
lias accumulated in the rooms and over the graves, we have the main 
facts on which I have relied to support my belief that Sikyatki is a 
prehistoric ruin. 

Awatobi 

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE RUIN 

Ho Tusayan ruin otters to the archeologist a better picture of the 
character of Hopi village life in the seventeenth century than that 
known as Awatobi (plate cvn). 1 It is peculiarly interesting as con¬ 
necting the prehistoric culture of Sikyatki and modern Tusayan life, 
with which we have become well acquainted through recent research. 
Awatobi was one of the largest Tusayan pueblos in the middle of the 
sixteenth century, and continued to exist to the close of the seven¬ 
teenth. It was therefore a historic pueblo. It had a mission, notices 
of which occur in historical documents of the period. From its pre¬ 
ponderance in size, no less thau from its position, we may suspect that 
it held relatively the same leadership among the other Antelope valley 
ruins that Walpi does today to Sichomovi and Hano. 

The present condition of the ruins of Awatobi is in no respect pecu¬ 
liar or different from that of the remains of prehistoric structures, 
except that its mounds occupy a position on a mesa top commanding a 
wide outlook over a valley. On its east it is hemmed in by extensive 
sand dunes, which also stretch to the north and west, receding from the 
village all the way from a few hundred yards to a quarter of a mile. 
On the south the ruins overlook the plain, and the sands on the west 
separate it from a canyon in which there are several springs, some corn¬ 
fields, and one or two modern Hopi houses. There is no water in the 
valley which stretches away from the mesa on which Awatobi is situ¬ 
ated, and the foothills are only sparingly clothed with desert vegeta¬ 
tion. The mounds of the ruin have numerous clumps of sibibi (Rhus 
trilobata), and are a favorite resort of Hopi women for the berries of this 
highly prized shrub. There is a solitary tree midway between the sand 
dunes west of the village and the western mounds, near which we found 
it convenient to camp. The only inhabitants of the Awatobi mesa are 
a Havaho family, who have appropriated, for the shade it affords, a 

1 For a previous description see the Preliminary Account, Smithsonian Report for 1895; also “Awa 
tobi: An Archeological Verification of a Tusayan Legend,” American Anthropologist, Washington, 
October, 1893. 





FEWKES] 


EXCAVATION OF AWATOBI 


593 


dwarf cedar east of the old mission walls. No land is cultivated, save 
that in the canyons above mentioned, west of the sand hills; some fair 
harvests are, however, still gathered from Antelope valley by the 
Navaho, especially in the section higher up, near Jeditoh spring. 

The ruin may be approached from the road between Holbrook and 
Ream’s Canyon, turning to the left after climbing the mesa. This road, 
however, is not usually traveled, since it trends through the difficult 
sand hills. As Ream’s Canyon is the only place in this region at which 
to provision an expedition, it is usual to approach Awatobi from that 
side, the road turning to the right shortly after one ascends the steep 
hill out of the canyon near Ream’s trading post. 

My archeological work at Awatobi began on July 6, 1895, and was 
continued for two weeks, being abandoned on account of the defection 
of my Hopi workmen, who left their work to attend the celebration of 
the Niman or “Farewell” kitcina a July festival in which many of 
them participated. The ruin is conveniently situated for the best 
archeological results; it has a good spring near by, and is not far from 
Ream’s Canyon, the base of supplies. The soil covering the rooms, how¬ 
ever, is almost as hard as cement, and fragile objects, such as pottery, 
were often broken before, their removal from the matrix. A considerable 
quantity of debris had to be removed before the floors were reached, 
and as this was firmly impacted great difficulty was encountered in 
successful excavations. 

With a corps of trained workmen much better results than those we 
obtained might have been expected, and the experience which the 
Indians subsequently had at Sikyatki would have made my excavations 
at Awatobi, had they been carried on later in the season, more remu¬ 
nerative. While my archeological work at certain points in these inter¬ 
esting mounds of Awatobi was more or less superficial, it was in other 
places thorough, and revealed many new facts in regard to the culture 
of the inhabitants of this most important pueblo. 

I found it inexpedient to dig in the burial places among the sand 
dunes, on account of the religious prejudices of my workmen. This 
fear they afterward overcame to a certain extent, but never completely 
outgrew, although the cemeteries at Sikyatki were quite thoroughly 
excavated, yielding some of the most striking results of the summer’s 
exploration. The sand hills west of Sikyatki are often swept by 
violent gales, by which the surface is continually changing, and mortu¬ 
ary pottery is frequently exposed. This has always been a favorite 
place for the collector, and many a beautiful food bowl has "been carried 
by the Indians from this cemetery to the trading store, for the natives 
do not seem to object to selling a vase or other object which they find 
on the surface, but rarely dig in the ground for the purpose of obtaining 
specimens. 

iThis important ceremony celebrates the departure from the pueblos of ancestral gods called. 
Icatcina.8, and is one of the roost popular in the ritual. 

17 ETH, PT 2-9 




594 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


NOMENCLATURE OF AWATOBI 

The name Awatobi is evidently derived from awata , a bow (referring 
to the Bow clan, one of the strongest in the ancient pueblo), and obi, 
“high place of.” A derivation from oica , rock, has also been suggested, 
but it seems hardly distinctive enough to be applicable, and is not 
accepted by the Hopi themselves. 

While the different pueblos of Tusayan were not specially mentioned 
until forty years after they were first visited, the name Awatobi is 
readily recognized in the account of Espejo in 1583, where it is called 
Aguato, 1 which appears as Zaguato and Ahuato in Hakluyt. 2 In the 
time of (dilate (1598) the same name is written AguatuyM. 3 Vetau- 
curt, 4 about 1080, mentions the pueblo under the names Aguatobi and 
Ahuatobi, and in 1092, or twelve years after the great rebellion, Vargas 
visited “ San Bernardo de Aguatuvi,” ten leagues from Zuiii. The name 
appears on maps up to the middle of the eighteenth century, several 
years after its destruction. In more modern times various older spell¬ 
ings have been adopted or new ones introduced. Among these may 
be mentioned: 

AguatuvI. Busch maim, Neu-Mexico, 231,1858. 

Aguatuya. Bandelier in Journal of American Ethnology and Archaeology, in, 85, 
1892 (misquoting Onate). 

Aguitobi. Bandelier in Archaeological Institute Papers, Am. series, in, pt. 1,115, 
1890. 

Ahuatu. Bandelier, ibid., 115,135. 

Ahuatuyba. Bandelier, ibid., 109. 

Ah-wat-tenna. Bourke, Snake Dance of the Moquis of Arizona, 195,1884 (so called 
by a Tusayan Indian). 

Aquatasi. Walch, Charte America, 1805. 

Aquatobi. Davis, Spanish Conquest of New Mexico, 368,1869. 

Atabi-hogandi. Bourke, op. cit., 84,1884 (Navaho name). 

Ar a-tu-ui. Bandelier in Archaeological Institute Papers, op. cit., iv, pt. 2,368,1892. 
A-wa-te-u. Cushing in Atlantic Monthly, 367, September, 1882. 

Awatcbi. Bourke, op. cit., 91,1884. 

A wat u I. Cushing in Fourth Report Bureau of Ethnology, 493,1886 (or Aguatdbi). 
Zagnato. Brackenridge, Early Spanish Discoveries, 19,1857 (misprint of Hakluyt’s 
Zaguafo). 

Zaguate. Prince, New Mexico, 34,1883 (misquoting Hakluyt). 

Zuguato. Hinton, Handbook to Arizona, 388,1878 (misquoting Hakluyt). 

The Navaho name of the ruin, as is well known, is Talla-bogan, ordi¬ 
narily translated “ Singing-house,” and generally interpreted to refer to 
the mass said by the padres in the ancient church. It is probable, how¬ 
ever, that kivas were used as chambers where songs were sung in cere¬ 
monials prior to the introduction of Christianity. Therefore why Awa¬ 
tobi should preeminently be designated as tbe “ Singing-house” is not 
quite apparent. 

1 Pacheco-Cardenas, Colleccion de Documentos InOditoa, xv, 122,182. 

2 Voyages, III, pp. 463,470,1600; reprint 1810. 

3 Pacheco-Cardenas, Documentos InCditos, op. cit., xvi, 139. 

4 Menologio Franoiscano, 275; Teatro Mexicano, IU, 321. 




FEWKES] 


THE DISCOVERY OF TUSAYAN 


595 


The name of the mission, San Bernardino, 1 or San Bernardo, refers to 
its patron saint, and was first applied by Porras in honor of the natal 
day of this saint, on which day, in 1629, he and his companions arrived 
in Tusayan. 

HISTORICAL KNOWLEDGE OF AWATOBI 

The identification of Tusayan with the present country of the Hopi 
depends in great measure on the correct determination of the situation 
of Cibola. I have regarded as conclusive Baudelier’s argument that 
Cibola comprised the group of pueblos inhabited by the Zufii in the 
sixteenth century. 2 Begarding this as proven, Tusayan corresponds 
with the Hopi villages, of which Awatobi was one of the largest. It lies 
in the same direction and about the same distance from Zufii as stated 
in Castaueda’s narrative. The fact that Cardenas passed through 
Tusayan when he went from Cibola to the Grand Canyon in 1540 is in 
perfect harmony with the identification of the Hopi villages with Tusa¬ 
yan, and Zufd with Cibola. Tobar, in Tusayan, heard of the great 
river to the west, and when he returned to the headquarters of Coro¬ 
nado at Cibola the general dispatched Cardenas to investigate the 
truth of the report. Cardenas naturally went to Tusayan where Tobar 
had heard the news, and from there took guides who conducted him to 
the Grand Canyon. Had the general been in any Hopi town at the 
time he sent Tobar, and later Cardenas, it is quite impossible to find 
any cluster of ruins which we can identify as Tusayau in the direction 
indicated. There can be no doubt that Tusayan was the modern Hopi 
country, and with this in mind the question as to which Hopi pueblo 
was the one first visited by Tobar is worthy of investigation. 

In order to shed what light is possible on this question, I have 
examined the account byCastafieda, the letter of Coronado to Mendoza, 
and the description in the “ Eelacion del Suceso,” but find it difficult to 
determine that point definitely. 

In Hakluyt’s translation of Coronado’s letter, it is stated that the 
houses of the “cities” which Tobar was sent to examine were “of 
earth,” and the “chiefe” of these towns is called “Tucano.” As this 
letter was written before Coronado had received word from Tobar con¬ 
cerning his discoveries, naturally we should not expect definite 
information concerning the new province. Capt. Juan Jaramillo’s 
account speaks of “ Tucayan ” as a province composed of seven towns, 
and states that the houses are terraced. 

In the “Eelacion del Suceso” we likewise find the province called 
“Tuzau” (Tusayau), and the author notes the resemblance of the 

1 San Bernardino de Ahuatobi (Vetancurt, 1680); San Bernardo Ue Aguatnvi (Vargas, 1692). I find 
that the mission at Walpi was also mentioned by Vargas as dedicated to San Bernardino. The church 
at Oraibi was San Francisco de Oraybe and San Miguel. The mission at Sbunopovi was called San 
Bartolome, San Bernardo, and San Bernabe. 

s Thi8 article was in type too early for a review of Dellenbaugh's identification of Cibola with a 
more southeasterly locality. His arguments bear some plausibility, but they are by no means decisive. 




596 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


villages to Cibola, but be distinctly states that the inhabitants culti¬ 
vated cotton. 

Castaneda’s account, which is the most detailed, is that on which I 
have relied in my identification of Awatobi as the first Hopi pueblo 
seen by the Spaniards. 

It seems that Don Pedro de Tobar was dispatched by Coronado to 
explore a province called Tusayan which was reported to be twenty- 
five leagues from Cibola. He had in his command seventeen horsemen 
and one or two foot-soldiers, and was accompanied by Friar Juan 
de Padilla. They arrived in the new province after dark and concealed 
themselves under the edge of the mesa, so near that they heard the 
voices of the Indians in their houses. The natives, however, discov¬ 
ered them at daylight drawn up in order, and came out to meet them 
armed with wooden clubs, bow and arrows, and carrying shields. The 
chief drew a line of sacred meal across the trail, and in that way sym¬ 
bolized that the entrance to their pueblo was closed to the intruders. 
During a parley, however, one of the men made a move to cross the line 
of meal, and an Indian struck his horse on the bridle. This opened hos¬ 
tilities, in which the Hopi were worsted, but apparently without loss of 
life. The vanquished brought presents of various kinds—cotton cloth, 
cornmeal, birds, skins, pifion nuts, and a few turquoises—and finding a 
good camping place near their pueblo, Tobar established headquarters 
and received homage from all the province. They allowed the Spaniards 
to enter their villages and traded with them. 1 

Espejo’s reference to Awatobi in 1583 leaves no doubt that the pueblo 
was in existence in that year, and while, of course, we can not definitely 
say that it was not built between 1540 and 1583, the indications are 
" that it was not. Hopi traditions assert that it was in existence when 
the Spaniards came, and the statement of the legendists whom I have 
consulted are definite that the survivors of Sikyatki went to Awatobi 
after the overthrow of the former pueblo. It would not appear, how¬ 
ever, that Awatobi was founded prior to Sikyatki, nor is it stated that 
the refugees from Sikyatki built Awatobi, which is within the bounds 
of possibility, but it seems to be quite generally couceded that the 
Sikyatki tragedy antedated the arrival of the first Spaniards. 

There can, I think, be no doubt that the Hopi pueblo first entered 
by Pedro de Tobar, in 1540, was Awatobi, and that the first conflict of 
Spanish soldiers and Hopi warriors, which occurred at that time, took 
place on the well-known Zuni trail in Antelope valley, not far from 
Jeditoh or Antelope spring. This pueblo is the nearest village to 
Cibola (Zuni), from which Tobar came, and as he took the Zuni trail he 
would naturally first approach this village, even if the other pueblos on 
the rim of this valley were inhabited. It is interesting to consider a few 
lines from Castaneda, describing the event of that episode, to see how 

1 An exact translation by Winship of the copy of Castaneda in the Lenox Library was published in 
the Fourteenth Annual Report of the Bureau. 





FEWKES] 


AWATOBI VISITED IN 1540 


597 


closely the site of Awatobi conforms to the narrative. In Castaneda’s 
account of Tobar’s visit we find that the latter with his command 
entered Tnsayan so secretly that their presence was unknown to the 
inhabitants, and they traversed a cultivated plain without being seen, 
so that, we are told, they approached the village near enough to hear 
the voices of the Indians without being discovered. Moreover, the 
Indians, the narrative says, had a habit of descending to their culti¬ 
vated fields, which implies that they lived on a mesa top. Awatobi 
was situated on a mesa, and the cultivated fields were in exactly the 
position indicated. The habit of retiring to their pueblo at night is 
still observed, or was to within a few years. Tobar arrived at the edge 
of Antelope valley after dark (otherwise he would have been discov¬ 
ered), crossed the cultivated fields under cover of night, and camped 
under the town at the base of the mesa. The soldiers from that point 
could readily hear the voices of the villagers above them. Even at the 
base of the lofty East Mesa I have often heard the Walpi people talking, 
while the words of the town crier are intelligible far out on the plain. 
From the Configuration of the valley it would not, however, have been 
easier for Awatobians to have seen the approaching Spaniards than 
for the Walpians; still it was possible for the invaders to conceal their 
approach to Walpi in the same way. If, however, the first pueblo 
approached was Walpi, and Tobar followed the Zufii trail, I think he 
would have been discovered by the Awatobi people before nightfall if 
he entered the cultivated fields early in the evening. It would be 
incredible to believe that he wandered from the trail; much more likely 
he went directly to Awatobi, the first village en route, and then 
encamped until the approach of day before entering the pueblo. At 
sunrise the inhabitants, early stirring, detected the presence of the 
intruders, and the warriors went down the mesa to meet them. They 
had already heard from Cibola of the strange beings, men mounted on 
animals which were said to devour enemies. 

It may seem strange that the departure of an expedition agaiust Tusa- 
yan was unknown to the Hopi, but the narrative leads us to believe 
that such was the fact. The warriors descended to the plain, and their 
chief drew a line of sacred meal across the trail to symbolize that the 
way to their pueblo was closed; whoever crossed it was au enemy, and 
punishment should be meted out to him. This custom is still preserved 
in several ceremonials at the present day, as, for instance, in the New- 
fire rites 1 in November and in the Flute observance in July. 2 The 

1 “At evening the chiefs asked that notices be written for them warning all white people to keep 
away from the mesa tomorrow, and these were set up by the night patrols in cleft wands on all the 
principal trails. At daybreak on the following morning the principal trails leading from the four 
cardinal points were ‘closed’ by sprinkling meal across them and laying on each a whitened elk 
horn. Anawita told the observer that in former times if any reckless person had the temerity to 
venture within this proscribed limit the Kwalcwantft inevitably put him to death by decapitation 
and dismemberment.” (“ Naacnaiya,’ Journal of American Folk lore, vol. v, p. 201.) This appears 
to be the same way in which the Awatobians “closed” the trail to Tobar. 

* When the Flute people approach Walpi, as is biennially dramatized at the present time, “an assem¬ 
blage of people there (at the entrance to the village) meet them, and just back of a line of meal drawn 



598 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


priests say that in former times whoever crossed a line of meal drawn 
on the trail at that festival was killed, and even now they insist that no 
one is allowed to pass a closed trail. The Awatobi warriors probably 
warned Tobar and his comrades not to advance, but the symbolic barrier 
was not understood by them. The Spaniards were not there to parley 
long, and it is probable that their purpose was .to engage in a quarrel 
with the Indians. Urged on by the priest, Juan de Padilla, “who had 
been a soldier in his youth,” they charged the Indians and overthrew a 
number, driving the others before them. The immediate provocation 
for this, according to the historian, was that an Indian struck one of 
the horses on the bridle, at which the holy father, losing patience, 
exclaimed to his captain, “Why are we here? ” which was interpreted as 
a sign for the assault. 

It must, however, be confessed that if the pueblo of Walpi was the 
first discovered an approach by stealth without being seen would 
have been easier for Tobar if the village referred to was Walpi then 
situated on the Ash-hill terrace, with the East Mesa between it and 
the Zuni trail. To offset this probability, however, is the fact that the 
Zuhi trail now runs through Awatobi, or in full view of it and there is 
hardly a possibility that Tobar left that trail to avoid Awatobi. lie 
would naturally visit the first village, and not go out of his way seven 
miles beyond it, seeking a more distant pueblo. 

The effect of this onslaught on men armed with spears, clubs, and 
leather shields can be imagined, and the encounter seems to have dis¬ 
couraged the Awatobi warriors from renewed resistance. They fled, 
but shortly afterward brought presents as a sign of submission, when 
Tobar called off his men. Thus was the entry of the Spaniards into 
Tusayan marked with bloodshed for a trifling offense. Shortly after¬ 
ward Tobar entered the village and received the complete submission 
of the people. 

The names of the Tusayan pueblos visited by Tobar in this first 
entrance are nowhere mentioned in the several accounts which have 
come down to us. Forty years later, however, the Spaniards returned 
and found the friendly feeling of Awatobi to the visitors had not lapsed. 
When Espejo approached the town in 1583, over the same Zufii trail, 
the multitudes with their caciques met him with great joy and poured 
maize (sacred meal?) on the ground for the horses to walk upon. This 
was symbolic of welcome; they “made” the trail, a ceremony which is 
still kept up when entrance to the pueblo is formally offered. * 1 

across the trail stood Winuta and Uonyi,” also two girls and a hoy. After these Flute people are 
challenged and sing their songs the trail is opened, viz: “ Alosaka drew the end of his monkohu along 
the line of meal, and Winuta ruhhed off the remainder from the trail with his foot.” ‘‘Walpi Flute 
Observance, ” Journal of American Folk-lore , vol. vn, p. 19. 

1 This custom of sprinkling the trail with sacred meal is one of the most common in the Tusayan 
ritual. The gods approach and-leave the pueblos along such lines, and no doubt the Awatobians 
regarded the horses of Espejo as supernatural beings and threw meal on the trail before them with 
the same thought in mind that they now sprinkle the trails with meal in all the great ceremonials 
in which personators of the gods approach the villages. 





FEWKES] 


EARLY SPANISH NAMES OF AWATOBI 


599 


The people, considering their poverty, were generous, and gave 
Espejo “hand towels with tassels” at the corners. These were prob¬ 
ably dance kilts and ceremonial blankets, which then, as now, the 
Hopi made of cotton. 

The pueblo, called “Aguato” in the account of that visit, was with¬ 
out doubt Awatobi. The name Aguatuyba, mentioned by Onate, is 
also doubtless the same, although, as pointed out to me by Mr Hodge, 
“through an error probably of the copyist or printer, the name 
Aguatuyba is inadvertently given by Onate among his list of Hopi 
chiefs, while Esperiez is mentioned among the pueblos.” In Onate’s list 
we recognize Oraibi in “Naybi,” and Shunopovi in “Xumupami” and 
“Comupavi,” the most westerly town of the Middle Mesa. “Cuanrabi” 
and “Esperiez” are not recognizable as pueblos. 

Espejo, therefore, appears to have been the first to mention Awatobi 
as “Aguato,” which is metamorphosed in Hakluyt into “Zaguato or 
Ahuzto,” 1 although evidently Onate’s “AguatuybA” was intended as 
a name of a pueblo. 

I have not been able to determine satisfactorily the date of the 
erection of the mission building of San Bernardino at Awatobi, but 
the name is mentioned as early as 1629. In that year three friars 
went to Tusayan and began active efforts to convert the Ilopi. 2 

It is recorded 1 that Padre Porras, with Andres Gutierrez, Cristoval 
de la Concepcion, and ten soldiers, arrived in Tusayan, “dia del glorioso 
San Bernardo (que es el apellido que aora tiene aquel pueblo),” which 
leaves no doubt why the mission at Awatobi was so named. Although 
an apostate Indian had spread the report, previously to the advent of 
these priests in Tusayan, that the Spaniards were coming among them 
to burn their pueblos, rob their homes, and devour 4 their children, the 
zealous missionaries in 1629 converted many of the chiefs and bap¬ 
tized their children. The cacique, Don Augustin, who appears to have 
been baptized at Awatobi, apparently lived in Walpi or at the Middle 
Mesa, and returning to his pueblo, prepared the way for a continuation 
of the apostolic work in the villages of the other mesas. 

But the missionary labors of Porras came to an untimely end. It is 
written that by 1633 he had made great progress in converting the 
Hopi, but in that year, probably at Awatobi, he was poisoned. Of 
the fate of his two companions and the success of their work little is 
known, but it is recorded that the succession of padres was not broken 

1 According to the reprint of 1891. In the reprint of 1810 it appears as “Ahnato.” I would suggest 
that possibly the error in giving the name of a pueblo to a chief may have arisen not from the copyist 
or printer, hut from inability of the Spaniards and Hopi to understand each other. If you ask a Hopi 
Indian his name, nine times out of ten he wiU not tell you, and an interlocutor for a party of natives 
will almost invariably name the pueblos from which hi$ comrades came. 

2 This was possibly the expedition which P. Fr. Antonio (Alonzo?) made among the Hopi in 1628; 
however that may be, there is good evidence that Porras, after many difficulties, baptized several 
chiefs in 1629. 

3 Segonda Relation de la grandiosa convention qve ha avido en el Xvevo Mexico. Embiada por el Padre 
Esteva de Perea, etc, 1633. 

4 An earlier rumor was that the horses were anthropophagous. 









600 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


up to the great rebellion in 1680. Figueroa, who was massacred at 
Awatobi in that year, went to Tusayan in 1674 with Aug. Sta. Marie. 
Between the death of Porras and the arrival of Figueroa there was an 
interval of eleven years, during which time the two comrades of Porras 
or Espeleta, who went to Tusayan in 1650, took charge of the spiritual 
welfare of tbe Hopi. Espeleta and Aug. Sta. Marie were killed in 1680 at 
San Francisco de Oraibi and Walpi, respectively, and Jose Trujillo prob¬ 
ably lost his life at Old Shuhopovi at the same time. As there is no good 
reason to suppose that Awatobi, one of the most populous Tusayan 
pueblos, was neglected by the Spanish missionaries after the death of 
Porras in 1633, and as it was the first pueblo encountered on the trail from 
Zufii, doubtless San Bernardino was one of the earliest missions erected 
in Tusayan. From 1680 until 1692, the period of independence result¬ 
ing from the great Pueblo revolt, there was no priest in Tusayan, nor, 
indeed, in all New Mexico. Possibly the mission was repaired between 
1692 and 1700, but it is probable that it was built as early as the time 
Porras lived in Awatobi. It is explicitly stated that in the destruction 
of Awatobi in 1700 no missionaries were killed, although it is recorded 
that early in that year Padre Garaycoechea made it a visit. 

The disputes between the Jesuits and Franciscans to obtain the 
Hopi held for missionary work during the eighteenth century naturally 
falls in another chapter of Spanish-Tusayan history. Aside from spo¬ 
radic visits to the pueblos, nothing tangible appears to have resulted 
from the attempts at conversion in this epoch. True, many apostates 
were induced to return to their old homes on the Rio Grande and some 
of the Hopi frequently asked for resident priests, making plausible 
offers to protect them; but the people as a whole were hostile, and 
the mission churches were never rebuilt, nor did the fathers again live 
in this isolated province. 

In 1692 Awatobi was visited by Don Diego de Yargas, the recon- 
querer of New Mexico, who appears to have had no difficulty bringing 
to terms the pueblos of Awatobi, Walpi, Mislioninovi, and Shunop- 
ovi. 1 He found, however, that Awatobi was “fortified,” and the 
entrance so narrow that but one man could enter at a time. The 
description leads us to conclude that the fortification was the wall at 
the eastern end, and the entrance the gateway, the sides of which are 
still to be seen. The plaza in which the cross was erected was prob¬ 
ably just north of the walls of the mission. 

There would seem to be no doubt that a mission building was stand¬ 
ing at Awatobi before 1680, for Yetancurt, writing about the year 
named, states that in the uprising it was burned. 2 At the time of the 

1 As Vargas appears not to have entered Oraibi at this time he may have found it too hostile. 
"Whether Frasquillo had yet arrived with his Tanos people and their booty is doubtful. The story of 
the migration to Tusayan of the Tanos under Frasquillo, the assassin of Fray Simdn de Jesus, and 
the establishment there of a “kingdom ” over which he ruled as king for thirty years, is a most inter¬ 
esting episode in Tusayan history. Many Tanos people arrived in several bands among the Hopi 
about 1700, but which of them were led by Frasquillo is not known to me. 

2 “El templo acabo en llamas.** At this time Awatobi was said to have 800 inhabitants. 



FEWKES] 


garaycoechea’s missionary labors 


601 


visit of Garaycoechea, in the spring of 1700, he found that the mission 
had been rebuilt. In this connection it is instructive, as bearing on 
the probable cause of the destruction of Awatobi, to find that while 
the inhabitants of this pueblo desired to have the mission rehabilitated, 
the other Tusayan pueblos were so hostile that the friends of the priest 
in Awatobi persuaded him not to attempt to visit the other villages. 
This warning was no doubt well advised, and the tragic fate which 
betell Awatobi before the close of the year shows that the trouble was 
brewing when the padre was there, and possibly Garaycoechea’s visit 
hastened the catastrophe or intensified the hatred of the other pueblos. 

At the time of Garaycoechea’s visit he baptized, it is said, 73 per¬ 
sons. This rite was particularly obnoxious 1 to the Hopi, as indeed to 
the other Pueblo Indians, notwithstanding they performed practically 
the same ceremony in initiations into their own secret societies. The 
Awatobians, however, or at least some of them, allowed this rite of the 
Christians, thus intensifying the hatred of the more conservative of 
their own village and of the neighboring pueblos. These and other facts 
seem to indicate that the real cause of the destruction of Awatobi 
was the reception of Christianity by its inhabitants, which the other 
villagers regarded as sorcery. The conservative party, led by Tapolo, 
opened the gate of the town to the warriors of Walpi and Mishofi- 
inovi, who slaughtered the liberals, thus effectually rooting out the 
new faith from Tusayan, for after that time it never again obtained a 
foothold. 

The visit of Padre Juan Garaycoechea to Tusayan was at the invita¬ 
tion of Espeleta, chief of Oraibi, but he went no farther than Awatobi, 
where he baptized the 73 Hopi. He then returned to the “governor,” 
and arrived at Zufii in June. According to Bancroft (p. 222), “In the 
‘Moqui ISIoticias’ ms., 669, it is stated that the other Moquis, angry that 
Aguatuvi had received the padres, came and attacked the pueblo, killed 
all the men, and carried off" all the women and children, leaving the 
place for many years deserted.” Although I have not been able to con¬ 
sult the document quoted, this conclusion corresponds so closely with 
Hopi tradition that I believe it is practically true, although Bancroft 
unfortunately closes the quotation I have made from his account with 
the words, “I think this must be an error.” Espeleta, the Oraibi chief, 
and 20 companions were in Santa Fe in October, 1700, and proposed a 
peace in which the Hopi asked for religious toleration, which Governor 
Cubero refused. As a final appeal he desired that the fathers should 
not permanently reside with them, but should visit one pueblo each 
year for six years; but this request was also rejected. Espeleta returned 
to Oraibi, and immediately on his appearance an unsuccessful attempt 
was made to destroy Awatobi, followed, as recounted in the legend, by 
a union with Walpi and Mishoniuovi, by which the liberal-minded 

1 At the present time one of the most bitter complaints which the Hopi have against the Spaniards 
is that they forcibly baptized the children of their people during the detested occupancy by the con¬ 
querors. 



602 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH.ANN. 17 


villagers of the Antelope mesa were overthrown. Documentary and 
legendary accounts are thus in strict accord regarding the cause of the 
destruction. 

The meager fragmentary historical evidence that can be adduced shows 
that the destruction of Awatobi occurred in the autumn or early winter 
of 1700. In May of that year we have the account of the visiting padre, 
and in the summer when Espeleta was at Santa Fe, the pueblo was 
flourishing. The month of November would have been a favorable one 
for the destruction of the town for the reason that during this time the 
warriors would all be engaged in secret kiva rites. The legend relates 
that the overthrow of the pueblo was at the Naacnaiya ,* which now 
takes place in November. 

For many years after its destruction the name of Awatobi was still 
retained on maps including the Tusayan province, and there exist sev¬ 
eral published references to the place as if still inhabited; but these 
appear to be compilations, as no traveler visited the site subsequently 
to 1700. It is never referred to in writings of the eighteenth or first 
half of the nineteenth centuries, and its site attracted no attention.' 
The ruins remained unidentified until about 1884, when the late Captain 
J. G. Bourke published his book on the “Snake Dance of the Moquis,” 
in which he showed that the ruin called by the Navaho Tally-hogan was 
the old Awatobi which played such a promineut part in early Tusayan 
history. 

The ruin was described and figured a few years later by Mr Victor 
Miudeleff in his valuable memoir on Cibola and Tusayan architecture. 
Bourke’s reference is very brief and Miudeleff’s plan deficient, as it 
includes only a portion of the ruin, namely, the conspicuous mission 
'walls and adjacent buildings, overlooking entirely the older or western 
mounds, which are the most characteristic. In 1S92 I published the 
first complete ground-plan of the ruins of Awatobi, including both 
eastern and western sections. As MindelefFs plan is defective, his 
characterization of the architectural features of the pueblo is conse¬ 
quently faulty. He says: “The plan suggests that the original pueblo 
was built about three sides of a rectangular court, the fourth or south¬ 
east side, later occupied by the mission buildings, heiug left open or 
protected by a low wall.” While the eastern portion undoubtedly sup¬ 
ports this conclusion, had he examined the western or main section he 
would doubtless have qualified his conclusion (plate cvnp This por¬ 
tion was compact, without a rectangular court, and was of pyramidal 
form. The eastern section was probably of later construction, and the 
mission was originally built outside the main pueblo, although probably 
a row of rooms of very ancient date extended along the northern side 
opposite the church. As it was customary in Tusayan to isolate the 
kivas, these rooms in Awatobi were probably extramural and may have 


1 A aacnaiya and T Viiu'iitcimti are the elaborate and abbreviated Kew-fire ceremonies now observed 
by four religious warrior societies, known as the Tataukyamii , T Yiiwwtcimtu, Aaltu and Kwakivantii. 
Both of these ceremonials, as now observed at Walpi, have elsewhere been described* 









BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. CVII 




GROUND PLAN OF AWATOBI 





























FEWRES] 


THE DESTRUCTION OF AWATOBI 


603 


been situated in this eastern court, but the majority of the people lived 
in the western section. The architecture of the mission and adjacent 
rooms shows well-marked Spanish influence, which is wholly absent in 
the buildings forming the western mounds. 

LEGEND OF THE DESTRUCTION OF AWATOBI 

The legend of the overthrow of Awatobi is preserved in detail among 
the living villagers of Tusayau, and like all stories which have been 
transmitted for several generations exist in several variants, differing 
in episodes, but coinciding in general outlines. In the absence of con¬ 
temporary documentary history, which some time may possibly be 
brought to light, the legends are the only available data regarding an 
event of great importance in the modern history of Tusayau. 

I have obtained the legends from Supela, Shimo,' Masiumptiwa, and 
Saliko, and the most complete appears to be that of the last mentioned. 
The others dilated more on the atrocities which were committed on the 
bodies of the unfortunate captives, and the tortures endured before 
they were killed. All show traces of modification, incorporation, and 
modern invention. 

Destruction of Awatobi as related by Saliko 2 

“ The chiefs Wiki and Shimo, and others, have told you their stories, 
and surely their ancestors were living here at Walpi when Awatobi 
was occupied. It was a large village, and many people lived there, and 
the village chief was called Tapolo, but he was not at peace with his 
people, and there were quarreling and trouble. Owing to this conflict 
only a little rain fell, but the land was fertile and fair harvests were 
still gathered. The Awatobi men were bad (powalco, sorcerers). Some¬ 
times they went in small bands among the fields of the other villagers 
and cudgeled any solitary worker they found. If they overtook any 
woman they ravished her, and they waylaid hunting parties, taking the 
game, after beating and sometimes killing the hunters. There was 
considerable trouble in Awatobi, and Tapolo sent to the Oraibi chief 
asking him to bring his people and kill the evil Awatobians. The 
Oraibi came and fought with them, and many were killed on both 
sides, but the Oraibi were not strong enough to enter the village, and 
were compelled to withdraw. On his way back the Oraibi chief stopped 
at Walpi and talked with the chiefs there. Said he, ‘ I can not tell 
why Tapolo wants the Oraibi to kill his folks, but we have tried and 
have not succeeded very well. Even if we did succeed, what benefit 
would come to us who live too far away to occupy the land ? You Walpi 
people live close to them and have suffered most at their hands; it is 
for you to try.’ While they were talking Tapolo had also come, and it 
was then decided that other chiefs of all the villages should convene at 
Walpi to consult. Couriers were sent out, and when all the chiefs had 

’Obiit 1892. Sliimo was chief of the Flute Society and “Governor” of Walpi. 

^Oldest woman of the Snake clan; mother of Kopeli, the Snake chief of Walpi; chief priestess of 
the Mamzrduti ceremony. 




604 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


f ETH. ANN. 17 


arrived Tapolo declared that his people had become sorcerers (Chris¬ 
tians), and hence should all be destroyed. 

“It was then arranged that in four days large bands from all the 
other villages should prepare themselves, and assemble at a spring not 
far from Awatobi. A long while before this, when the Spaniards lived 
there, they had built a wall ou the side of the village that needed pro¬ 
tection, and in this wall was a great, strong door. Tapolo proposed that 
the assailants should come before dawn, and he would be at this door 
ready to admit them, and under this compact he returned to his village. 
During the fourth night after this, as agreed upon, the various bands 
assembled at the deep gulch spring, and every man carried, besides his 
weapons, a cedar-bark torch and a bundle of greasewood. Just before 
dawn they moved silently up to the mesa summit, and, going directly 
to the east side of the village, they entered the gate, which opened as 
they approached. In one of the courts was a large kiva, and in it were 
a number of men engaged in sorcerer’s rites. The assailants at once 
made for the kiva, and plucking up the ladder, they stood around the 
hatchway, shooting arrows down among the entrapped occupants. In 
the numerous cooking pits fire had been maintained through the night 
for the preparation of food for a feast on the appointed morning, and 
from these they lighted their torches. Great numbers or these and the 
bundles of greasewood being set on fire, they were cast down the 
hatchway, and firewood from stacks upon the house terraces were also 
thrown into the kiva. The red peppers for which Awatobi was famous 
were hanging in thick clusters along the fronts of the houses, and 
these they crushed in their hands and Hung upon the blazing fire in the 
kiva to further torment their burning occupants. After this, all who 
"were capable of moving were compelled to travel or drag themselves 
until they came to the sand-hills of Mishofiinovi, and there the final 
disposition of the prisoners was made. 

“My maternal ancestor had recognized a woman chief (Mamzrau 
monwi), and saved her at the place of massacre called Maski, and now 
he asked her whether she would be willing to initiate the woman of 
Walpi in the rites of the Mamzrau. She complied, and thus the observ¬ 
ance of the ceremonial called the Mamzrduti came to Walpi. I can not 
tell how it came to the other villages. This Mamzrau-monwi had no 
children, and hence my maternal ancestor’s sister became chief, and 
her tiponi (badge of office) came to me. Some of the other Awatobi 
women knew how to bring rain, and such of them as were willing to 
teach their songs were spared and went to different villages. The 
Oraibi chief saved a man who knew how to cause peaches to grow, 
and that is why Oraibi has such an abuudance of peaches now. The 
Mishofiinovi chief saved a prisoner who knew how to make the sweet, 
small-ear corn grow, and that is why it is more abundant there than 
elsewhere. All the women who knew song prayers and were willing 
to teach them were spared, and no childreu were designedly killed, but 
were divided among the villages, most of them going to Mishofiinovi. 


FEWKES] 


CAUSES OF THE DESTRUCTION 


605 


The remainder of the prisoners, men and women, were again tortured 
and dismembered and left to die on the sand hills, and there their 
bones are, and that is the reason the place is called Maschomo (Death- 
mound). This is the story of Awatobi told by my old people.” 

All variants of the legend are in harmony in this particular, that Awa¬ 
tobi was destroyed by the other Tusayan pueblos, and that MislioFiinovi, 
Walpi, and probably Oraibi and Shunopovi participated in the deed. 
A grievance that would unite the other villagers against Awatobi must 
have been a great one, indeed, and not a mere dispute about water or 
lands. The more I study the real cause, hidden in the term poicalco, 
“wizard” or “sorcerer,” the more I am convinced that the progress 
Christianity was making in Awatobi, after the recouquest of the Pueblos 
in 1692, explains the hostility of the other villagers. The party favor¬ 
ing the Catholic fathers in Awatobi was increasing, and the other 
Tusayan pueblos watched its growth with alarm. They foresaw that 
it heralded the return of the hated domination of the priests, associ¬ 
ated in their minds with practical slavery, and they decided on the 
tragedy, which was carried out with all the savagery of which their 
natures were capable. 

They greatly feared the return of the Spanish soldiers, as the epoch 
of Spanish rule, mild though it may have been, was held in universal 
detestation. Moreover, after the reconquest of the Rio Grande pueblos, 
many apostates fled to Tusayan and fanned the tires of hatred against 
the priests. Walpi received these malcontents, who came iu numbers 
a few years later. Among these arrivals were Tanoan warriors and 
their families, part of whom were ancestors of the present inhabitants 
of Hano. 

It was no doubt hoped that the destruction of Awatobi would effect¬ 
ually root out the growing Christian influence, which it in fact did; 
and for fifty years afterward Tusayan successfully resisted all efforts 
to convert it. Franciscans from the east and Jesuits from the Gila in 
the south strove to get a new hold, but they never succeeded iu rebuild¬ 
ing the missions in this isolated province, which was generally regarded 
as independent. 

From (he scanty data I have been able to collect from historical and 
legendary sources, it seems probable that Awatobi was always more 
affected by the padres than were the other Tusayan pueblos. This was 
the village which was said to have been “converted” by Padre Torras, 
whose work, after his death by poison in 1633, was no doubt continued by 
his associates and successors. About 16S0, as we learu from document¬ 
ary accounts, the population of Awatobi was 800, 1 and it was probably 
not much smaller in 1700, the time of its destruction. 

■Vetancurt, Chronica, says that Aguatobi (Awatobi) had 800 inhabitants and was converted by 
Padre Francisco de Porras. In 1630 Benavides speaks of the Mokis as being rapidly converted. It 
would appear, if we rely on Vetancurt’s figures, that Awatobi was not one of the largest villages of 
Tusayan in early times, for he ascribes 1,200 to Walpi and 14,000 to Oraibi. The estimate of the popu¬ 
lation of Awatobi was doubtless nearer the truth than that of the other pueblos, and I greatly doubl 
if Oraibi ever had 14,000 people. Probably 1,400 would he more nearly correct. 





606 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


(ETH. ANN. 17 


EVIDENCES OF FIRE IN THE DESTRUCTION 

Wherever excavations were conducted in the eastern section of 
Awatobi, we could not penetrate far below the surface without encoun¬ 
tering unmistakable evidences of a great conflagration. The effect of 
the tire was particularly disastrous in the rooms of the eastern section, 
or that part of the pueblo contiguous to the mission. Hardly a single 
object was removed from this part of Awatobi that had not been 
charred. Many of the beams were completely burned; others were 
charred only on their surfaces. The rooms were filled with ashes and 
scorite, while the walls had been cracked as if by intense heat. 

Perhaps the most significant fact in regard to the burning of Awatobi 
was seen in some of the houses where the fire seems to have been less 
intense. In many chambers of the eastern section, which evidently 
were used as granaries, the corn was stacked in piles just as it is today 
under many of the living rooms at Walpi, a fact which tends to show 
that there was no attempt to pillage the pueblo before its destruction. 
The ears of corn in these store-rooms were simply charred, but so well 
preserved that entire ears of maize were collected in great numbers. It 
may here be mentioned that upon one of the stacks of corn I found dur¬ 
ing my excavations for the Hemeuway Expedition in 1S92, a rusty iron 
knife-blade, showing that the owner of the room was acquainted with 
objects of Spanish manufacture. This blade is now deposited with the 
Hemeuway collection in the Peabody Museum at Cambridge. 

THE RUINS OF THE MISSION 

The mission church of San Bernardino de Awatobi was erected very 
early in the history of the Spanish occupancy, and its ruined walls are 
the only ones now standing above the surface. This building was con¬ 
structed by the padres on a mesa top, while the churches at Walpi and 
Shunopovi were built in the foothills near those pueblos. The mission 
at Oraibi likewise stood on a mesa top, so that we must qualify Minde- 
letPs statement 1 that “at Tusayan there is no evidence that a church 
or mission house ever formed part of the villages on the mesa sum¬ 
mits. . . . These summits have been extensively occupied only iu com¬ 
paratively recent time, although one or more churches may have been 
built here at an early date as outlooks over the fields in the valley 
below.” 

At the time of the Spanish invasion three of the Hopi villages stood 
on the foothills or lower terraces of the mesas on which they now stand, 
and the other two, Awatobi and Oraibi, occupied the same sites as 
today, on the summits of the mesas. 

I believe that at the time of the Spanish discovery of Tusayan by 
Pedro de Tobar in 1540, there were only five Tusayan towns—Walpi, 


1 Architecture of Cibola and Tusayan, p. 225. 






BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. CVIII 




RUINS OF SAN BERNARDINO DE AWATOBI 









FEWKES] 


THE AWATOBI MISSION. 


607 


Awatobi, Shunopovi, Mishoninovi, aud Oraibi. Later, Awatobi was 
destroyed, and shortly after 1080 Walpi, the only East Mesa town, 
together with Mishofiinovi and Shunopovi, on the Middle Mesa, were 
moved to the elevated sites they now occupy. Oraibi, therefore, is 
probably the only Tusayan pueblo, at present inhabited, which occupies 
practically the same site that it did in 1540. 

In their excavations for the foundations of new houses the present 
inhabitants of Oraibi often hud, as I am informed by Mr H. It. Yoth, 
the missionary at that place, vessels or potsherds of ancient Tusayan 
ware closely resembling that which is found in the ruins of Sikyatki 
aud Awatobi. 

The mission building at Awatobi, known in the church history of 
New Mexico and Arizona as San Bernardo or San Bernardino, was 
reputed to be the largest in Tusayan, and its walls are still the best 
preserved of any mission structure in that province. This, however, 
does not imply that the church structures of Tusayan are well pre¬ 
served, for the mission buildings at Walpi have wholly disappeared, 
while at Oraibi little more than a pile of stones remains. Of the 
Shunopovi mission of San Bernabe there are no standing walls save 
at one end, which are now used as a sheep corral. 

The mission of San Bernardino de Awatobi was built on the southern 
side of the eastern part of the pueblo on the edge of the cliff', and its 
walls are the only ones of Awatobi now standing above ground. From 
the situation of these walls, as compared with the oldest part of Awa¬ 
tobi—the western mounds—I believe that San Bernardino mission was, 
Avheu erected, beyond the limits of the pueblo proper—a custom almost 
universally followed in erecting pueblo mission churches—necessary in 
this instance, since from the compactness of the village there was no 
other available site. The same was true of the missions of Oraibi and 
Shuiiopovi, and probably of Old Walpi. As time passed additional 
buildings were erected near it, this eastward extension altering the 
original plan of the town, but in no way affecting the configuration of 
the older portion. 

From its commanding position on the edge of the mesa the mission 
walls must have presented an imposing appearance from the plain 
below, rising as they did almost continuously with the side of the cliff', 
making a conspicuous structure for miles across Antelope valley, from 
which its crumbling walls are still visible (plate cvm). 

When compared with the masonry of unmodified pueblo ruins the 
walls of the mission may be designated massive, and excavation at 
their foundations was very difficult on account of the great amount of 
debris which had fallen about them. With the limited force of laborers 
at my command the excavations could not be conducted with a great 
degree of thoroughness. 

In the middle of what I supposed to have been the main church 
there was much sand, evidently drift, aud in it I sank a trench 10 feet 


608 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


below the surface without reaching anything which I considered a door. 
We found in excavations at the foundation of the church walls frag¬ 
ments of glass, several copper nails, a much-corroded iron hook, a cop¬ 
per bell pivot, and fragments of Spanish pottery. From the character 
of these objects alone there is no doubt in my mind of the former exist¬ 
ence of Spanish influence, and the method of construction of the mission 
walls and the addition constructed of adobe containing chopped straw, 
substantiate this conclusion. Supposing, from the architecture and 
orientation of other New Mexican missions, that the altar was at the 
western end, opposite the entrance to the church, I sank a trench along 



the foundation of the wall on that side, but encountered such a mass 
of fallen stone at that point that I found it impossible to make much 
progress, and the fact that the floor was more than 10 feet below the 
surface of the central depression led me to abandon, as impossible 
with my little band of native excavators, the laying bare of the floor 
of the church. 

The ground plan (figure 255) of the mission resembles that of the 
Zufii church, and is not unlike the plans of the churches in the Rio 
Grande pueblos. The tall buttresses, which rise 15 or 20 feet above 
the trad up the mesa on the southern corner, are, I believe, remnants 














FEWKES] 


EXCAVATIONS IN THE MISSION RUIN 


609 


of towers which formerly supported a balcony. During a previous visit 
to Tusayan I obtained fragments 1 of the ancient bell, which are now 
on exhibition in the Hemenway section of the Peabody Museum at 
Cambridge. 

The stone walls of the mission were rarely dressed or carefully fitted, 
the interstices being filled in with loose rubble laid in adobe. There 
was apparently a gallery over the entrance to the building overlooking 
many smaller buildings, which evidently were the quarters of the resi¬ 
dent priest. The construction of the walls was apparently a laborious 
task, as many of the stones are large and must have been brought a 
considerable distance. These stones were laid in adobe, and appar¬ 
ently were plastered without and within, although little evidence of 
the former plastering may now be seen. At the northwestern corner, 
however, there still remain well-made adobe walls, the clay having 
been intermixed with straw. From the general appearance of these 
walls I regard them as of late construction, probably long after the 
destruction of the mission. 

An examination of the plan of the mission building shows that it 
was oriented about north and south, with the entrance toward the latter 
direction. Compared with many other pueblo missions, this would seem 
to be au exceptional position. In my excavations I naturally sought 
the probable position of the entrance and, opposite it, the recess for 
the altar. It is evident, from the form of the standing walls, that an 
entrance from the east would be blocked by standing walls, and the 
axis of the building is north and south. The theory that the door was 
at the south has much in its favor, but there are several almost fatal 
objections to this conclusion. 

If, however, we suppose that the entrance was in the south wall, the 
high walls still standing above the trail up the mesa would then recall 
the facades of other missions. The rooms east of the largest iuclosure, 
by this interpretation, would be outbuildings—residence rooms for the 
padres—one side of which forms the eastern walls of the church edi¬ 
fice. The form of the Awatobi church, as indicated by the walls still 
standing, is very similar to that of Zuui, notwithstanding the orienta¬ 
tion appears to be somewhat different. 

Excavations failed to reveal any sign of the altar recess at either the 
northern or the western end, which is not surprising, since the walls are 
so poorly preserved in both these directions. It was, moreover, very 
difficult to make a satisfactory examination of the foundations of the 
walls at any point on account of the fallen stories, which encumbered 
the floor at their bases. 

From the appearance of antiquity it seems probable that long before 
the mission buildings were erected a ridge of many-storied houses 

1 There are two fragments, one of which is large enough to show the size of the bell, which was 
made either in Mexico or in Spain. The smaller fragment was used for many years as a paint- 
grinder by a Walpi Indian priest. 

17 ETH, PT 2-10 





€10 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


extended eastward from the pueblo on the northern side of a level space 
or court, in which there were, either then or later, ceremonial chambers 
or kivas. The southern side of this open space was the site of the mis¬ 
sion, but was then unoccupied. This open space recalls the large court 
at Walpi, where the Snake dance occurs, but it was considerably 
broader, one side being formed by the structures which rose from the 
edge of the mesa. In course of time, however, the mission buildings 
were erected on this site, and a wall connecting the ridge of houses on 
the north and the outhouses of the mission was made, thus inclosing 
the court on all four sides. It was into this inclosure, through a gate¬ 
way, the buttresses of which still remain, that the assailants passed on 
that eventful night when Awatobi was destroyed. 

There is good evidence that a massacre of Awatobiaus occurred in 
the southeastern angle of the eastern part of the pueblo, .just east of the 
mission. If so, it is probable that many of the unfortunates sought 
refuge in the outbuildings of the church. Suspecting that such was the 
case, I excavated a considerable space of ground at these places and 
found many human skulls and other bones thrown together in confusion. 
The earth was literally filled with bones, evidently hastily placed there 
or left where the dead fell. These bodies were not buried with pious 
care, for there were no fragments of mortuary pottery or other indica¬ 
tion of burial objects. Many of the skulls were broken, some pierced 
with sharp implements. While it is true that possibly this may have 
been a potter’s field, or, from its position east of the mission, a Christian 
burial place, as at Zuni, the evidence from the appearance of the bodies 
points to a different conclusion. According to the legends, the hostiles 
entered the pueblo through the adjacent gateway; their anger led them 
especially against those of the inhabitants who were regarded aspoicako 
or sorcerers, and their first acts of violence would naturally have been 
toward those who sought refuge in the buildings adjacent the church. 
Near this hated “Singing-house” the slaughter began, soon extending 
to the kivas and the whole of the eastern section of the village. There 
was no evidence of murderous deeds in the rooms of the western section 
of the old pueblo, and the legends agree in relating that most of the 
men were in kivas, not far from the mission, when the village was 
overthrown. There is no legendary evidence that there were any Span¬ 
ish priests in the mission at the time of its destruction, and there is no 
record extant of any Spaniards losing their lives at Awatobi at the 
time of its destruction, although the fact of the occurrence, according 
to Bandelier, 1 was recorded. 

The traditional clans which inhabited Awatobi were the Awata 
(Bow), Honani (Badger), Piba (Tobacco), and Buli (Butterfly). The 
Bow people appear to have been the most important of these, since 
their name was applied to the village. Their totemic signatures, in 
pictographic form, may still be seen on the sides of the cliff under 

» t 


1 See Ms Final Report, p. 372. 



FEWKES] 


THE CLANS OF AWATOB1 


611 


Awatobi, and in the ruins was found a fine arrowsliaft polisher on 
which was an incised drawing of a bow and an arrow, suggesting that 
the owner was a member of the Bow phratry. Saliko, the chief of the 
woman’s society known as the Mamzrautu, insists that this priesthood 
was strong in the fated pueblo, and that a knowledge of its mysteries 
was brought to Walpi by one of the women who was saved. 

It is claimed by the folklorists of the Tataukyamu, a priesthood 
which controls the Xew-fire ceremonies at Walpi, and is prominent in 
the Soyaluua, or the rites of the winter solstice, that the Piba or 
Tobacco phratry brought the fetishes of that society to Walpi, and 
there are many obscurely known resemblances between the Mamzrauti 
and the Wiiwiitcimti celebrations in Walpi which appear to support 
that claim. The Piba phratry is likewise said to have come to Walpi 
comparatively late in the history of the village, which fact points the 
same way. 

Undoubtedly Awatobi received additions to its population from the 
south when the pueblos on the Little Colorado were abandoned, and 
thei'e are obscure legends which support that belief; but the largest 
numbers were recruited from the pueblos in the eastern section of the 
country. 1 

THE KIVAS OF AWATOBI 

A pueblo of the size of Awatobi, with so many evidences of long 
occupancy, would no doubt have several ceremonial chambers or 
kivas, but as yet no one has definitely indicated their positions. I 
have already called attention to evidences that if they existed they 
were probably to be looked for in the open court east of the western 
mounds and in the space north of the mission. In all the inhabited 
Tusayan pueblos the kivas are separated from the house clusters 
and are surrounded by courts or dance plazas, iso open spaces 
existed in the main or western mounds of Awatobi, and there was 
no place there for kivas unless the pueblo was exceptional in having 
such structures built among the dwellings, as at Zuni. A tradition has 
survived that Awatobi had regular kivas, partially subterranean, of 
rectangular shape, and that they were situated in open courts. This 
would indicate that the space east of the oldest part of the ruin may 
have been the sites of these chambers. The old priests whom I have 
consulted in regard to the probable positions of Awatobi kivas have 
invariably pointed out the mounds north of the mission walls in the 
eastern section of the ruin as the location of the kivas, and in 1892 I 
proved to my satisfaction that these directions were correct. 

There is no reason to suppose that the kiva was a necessity in the 
ancient performance of the Tusayan ritual, and there are still performed 
many ceremonials as secret and as sacred as any others which occur 
in rooms used as dwellings or for the storage of corn. Thus, the Flute 

'The only Awatobi name I know is that of a chief, Tapolo, which is not borne by any Hopi of my 
acquaintance (see page 603). 



612 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


ceremony, one of the most complicated in Tusayan, is not, and accord¬ 
ing to legends never was, performed in a kiva. On the contrary, the 
secret rites of the Flute society are performed in the ancestral Flute 
chamber or home of the oldest woman of the Flute clan. Originally, I 
believe, the same was true in the case of other ceremonials, and that 
the kiva was of comparatively recent introduction into Tusayan. 1 

Speaking of the sacred rooms of Awatobi, Mindeleff says: “Xo traces 
of kivas were visible at the time the ruin was surveyed,” but Stephen 
is quoted in a legend that “the people ofWalpi had partly cleaned 
out one of these chambers and used it as a depository for ceremonial 
plume-sticks, but the Navaho carried off their sacred deposits, tempted 
probably by their market value as ethnologic specimens.” It is true 
that while from a superficial examination of the Awatobi mounds the 
position of the kivas is difficult to locate, a little excavation brings 
their walls to light. It is likewise quite probable that the legend 
reported by Stephen has a basis in fact, and that the people at Walpi 
may have used old shrines in Awatobi, after its destruction, as the 
priests of Mishoniuovi do at the present time; but I very much doubt if 
the Navaho sold any of the sacred prayer emblems from these fanes. It 
is hardly characteristic of these people to barter such objects among 
one another, and no specimens from the shrines appear to have made 
their way into the numerous collections of traders known to me. There 
is, however, archeological evidence revealed by excavations that the 
room centrally placed in the court north of the mission contained a 
shrine in its floor on the night Awatobi fell. 

In 1892, while removing the soil from a depression about the middle of 
the eastern court of Awatobi, about 100 feet north of the northern 
wall of the mission, I laid bare a room 28 by 14 feet, in which were 
found a skull and many other human bones which, from their dis¬ 
position, had not been buried with care. The discovery of these skel¬ 
etons accorded with the Hopi traditions that this was one of the rooms 
in which the men of Awatobi were gathered on the fatal night, and the 
inclosure where many died. I was deterred from further excavation 
at that place by the horror of my workmen at the desecration of the 
chamber. In 1895, however, I determined to continue my earlier 
excavations and to trace the course of the walls of adjacent rooms. 
The results obtained in this work led to a new phase of the question, 
which sheds more light on the character of the rooms in the middle of 
the eastern court of Awatobi. Instead of a single room at this point, 
there are three rectangular chambers side by side, all of about the 
same size (plate cvm). In the center of the floor of the middle room, 
6 feet below the surface, I came upon a cist or stone shrine. As the 
workmen approached the floor they encountered a stone slab, horizon¬ 
tally placed in the pavement of the room. This slab was removed, and 

1 This explains tlie fact that the mins in Tusayan, as a rule, have no signs of kivas, and the same 
appears to he true of the ruins of the pueblos on the Little Colorado and the Yerde, in Tonto Basin, 
and other more southerly regions. 



FKWKES] 


A SHRINE AT AWATOBI 


613 


below it was another flat stone which was perforated by a rectangular 
hole just large enough to admit the baud and forearm. This second 
slab was found to cover a stone box, the sides of which were formed 
of stone slabs about 2£ feet square. On the inner faces of the upright 
slabs rain-cloud symbols were painted. These symbols were of terrace 
form, in different colors outlined with black lines. One of the stones 
bore a yellow figure, another a red, and a third white. The color of the 
fourth was not determinable, but evidently, from its position relatively 
to the others, was once green. This arrangement corresponds with 
the pi-esent ceremonial assignment of colors to the cardinal points, or 
at least the north and south, as at the present time, were yellow and 
red, respectively, and presumably the white and green were on the east 
and west sides of the cist. The colors are still fairly bright and may 
be seen in the restoration of this shrine now in the National Museum. 

There was no stone floor to this shrine, but within it were found 
fragments of prayer-plumes or palios painted green, but so decayed 
that, when exposed to sunlight, some of them fell into dust. There 
were likewise fragments of green carbonate of copper and kaolin, a 
yellow ocher, and considerable vegetal matter mixed with the sand. 
All these facts tend to the belief that this crypt was an ancient shrine 
in the floor of a chamber which may have been a kiva. 

The position of this room with a shrine in the middle of the court is 
interesting in comparison with that of similar shrines in some of the 
modern Hopi pueblos. Shrines occupy the same relative position in 
Sichomovi, Hano, Shipaulovi, and elsewhere, and within them sacred 
prayer-offerings are still deposited on ceremonial occasions. At Walpi, 
in the middle of the plaza, there is a subterranean crypt in which offer¬ 
ings are often placed, as I have elsewhere described in treating of 
certain ceremonies. This shrine is not visible, for a slab of stone which 
is placed over it lies on a level with the plaza, and is securely luted in 
place with adobe. There are similar subterranean prayer crypts in 
other Tusayan villages. They represent the traditional opening, or 
sipapu , through which, in Pueblo cosmogony, races crawled to the 
surface of the earth from an underworld. In Awatobi also there is a 
similar shrine, for the deposit of prayer-offerings, almost in the middle 
of a plaza bounded on three sides by the mission, the spur of many- 
storied houses, and the wall with a gateway, while the remaining side 
was formed by the great communal houses of the western part of the 
pueblo. 

While we were taking from their ancient resting places the slabs of 
stone which formed this Awatobi shrine, the workmen reminded me 
how closely it resembled the paholti used by the katcinas, and when, a 
month later, I witnessed the Nimdn-katcina ceremony at Walpi, and 
accompanied the chief, Intiwa, when he deposited the prayer-sticks in 
that shrine, 1 1 was again impressed by the similarity of the two, one in a 


1 See Journal of American Ethnology and Archceology , vol. n. 




614 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


ruin deserted two centuries ago, the other still used in the performance 
of ancient rites, no doubt much older than the overthrow of the great 
pueblo of Antelope mesa. 

OLD AWATOBI 

The western mounds of Awatobi afford satisfactory evidence that 
they cover the older rooms of the pueblo, and show by their compact 
form that the ancient village in architectural plan was similar to modern 
Walpi. They indicate that Awatobi was of pyramidal form, was sym¬ 
metrica], three or four stories high, 1 without a central plaza, but prob¬ 
ably penetrated by narrow courts or passages. No great ceremonial 
dance could have taken place in the heart of the pueblo, since there 
was not sufficient space for its celebration, but it must have occurred 
outside the village, probably in the open space to the east, near where 
the ruined walls of the mission now stand. 

From the nature of the western mounds I found it advantageous to 
begin the work of excavation in the steep decline on the southern side, 
and to penetrate the mound on the level of its base or the rock forma¬ 
tion which forms its foundation. In this way all the debris could advan¬ 
tageously be moved and thrown over the side of the mesa. We began 
to open the mounds, therefore, on the southern side, making converging 
trenches at intervals, working toward their center. We found that these 
trenches followed continuous walls connected by cross partitions, form¬ 
ing rooms, and that these were continued as far as we penetrated. 
The evidence is good that these rooms are followed by others which 
extend into the deepest part of the mound. We likewise excavated at 
intervals over the whole surface of the western area of Awatobi, and 
wherever we dug, walls of former rooms, which diminished in altitude 
on the northern side, were found. From these excavations I concluded 
that if any part of the western mound was higher than the remainder, 
it was on the southern side just above the edge of the mesa, and from 
that highest point the pueblo diminished in altitude to the north, in 
which direction it was continued for some distance in low, single-story 
rooms. 

ROOMS OF THE WESTERN MOUND 

The older or western portion of Awatobi is thus believed to be made 
up of a number of high mounds which rise steeply, and for a consider¬ 
able height from the southern edge of the cliff, from which it slopes 
more gradually to the north and west. On account of this steep decliv¬ 
ity we were able to examine, in vertical section, the arrangement of the 
rooms, one above the other (figure 256). By beginning excavations on 
the rocky foundation and working into the mound, parallel walls were 
encountered at intervals as far as we penetrated. From the edge of 
the cliff - there seemed to extend a series of these parallel walls, which 


1 “ Las casas son tie tres altos ”—Segunda Uelacion, p. 580. 


















































































































BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. CIX 




EXCAVATIONS IN THE WESTERN MOUND OF AWATOBI 














fewkes] ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES OF AWATOBIA 615 

were united by cross partitions, forming a series of rooms, one back of 
another. The deeper we penetrated the mound the higher the walls 
were found to be, and this was true of the excavations along the whole 
southern side ot the elevation (plate cix). If, as I suspect, these par¬ 
allel walls extend to the heart of the mounds, the greatest elevation of 
the former buildings must have been four stories. It would likewise 
seem probable that the town was more or less pyramidal, with the 
highest point somewhat back from the one- or two-story walls at the 
edge of the cliff, a style of architecture still preserved in Walpi. The 
loftiest wall, which was followed down to the floor, was 15 feet high, 



Fig. 256—Structure of liouse wall of Awatobi 

but as that was measured over 20 feet below the apex of the mound, it 
would seem that, from a distauce, there would be a wall 30 feet high in 
the center of the mound. Even counting 7 feet as the height of each 
story we would have four stories above the foundation, and this, I 
believe, was the height of the old pueblo. But probably the wall did 
not rise to this height at the edge of the mesa, where it could not have 
been more than one or two stories high. There is no evidence of the 
former existence of an inclosed court of any considerable size between 
the buildings and the cliff', although a passage probably skirted the 
brink of the precipice, and house ladders may have been placed on 







616 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


that side for ready access to upper rooms. By a series of platforms or 
terraces, which were in fact the roofs of the houses, one mounted to 
the upper stories which formed the apex of the pueblo. 

On the western, northern, and eastern sides the slope is more gradual, 
and while there are many obscurely marked house plans visible over 
the surface, even quite near the top of the elevation, they are doubtless 
the remains of single-story structures. This leads me to suspect that 
when Awatobi was built it was reared on a mound of soil or sand, aud 
not on the solid rock surface of the mesa. The configuration, then, 
shows that the pueblo sloped by easy decline to the plain to the north, 
but rose more abruptly from the south and west. There are low extra¬ 
mural mounds to the north, showing that on this side the dwellings 
were composed of straggling chambers. The general character of the 
rooms on the level slope at the western side of old Awatobi is shown 
in the accompanying illustration (plate cx). The peculiarity of these 
rooms appears by a comparison with the many-story chambers of the 
southern declivity of the ruin. Extending the excavations four feet 
below the surface we encountered a floor which rested ou solid earth, 
and there were no signs of walls beneath it. This was without doubt 
a single-story house, the roof of which had disappeared. The sur¬ 
rounding surface of the ground is level, but the tops of adjoining walls 
of rooms may readily be traced near by. 

The room was rectangular, twice as long as wide, and without pas¬ 
sageways into adjoining chambers. The northern, eastern, aud western 
walls were unbroken, and there was nothing peculiar in the floor of 
these sections; but we found a well-preserved, elevated settle at the 
southern side, extending two-thirds of the length of the main wall to a 
small side wall, inclosing a square recess, the object of which is 
unknown to me. 

All walls were smoothly plastered, and the floor was paved with flat 
stones set in adobe. The singular inclosure at the southern corner 
could not be regarded as a fireplace, for there was no trace of soot upon 
its walls. I incline to the belief that it may have served as a closet, 
or possibly as a granary. Its arrangement is not unlike that in certain 
modern rooms at Walpi. 

An examination of the masonry of the rooms of the western mounds 
of Awatobi shows that the component stones were in a measure dressed 
into shape, which was, as a rule, cubical. In this respect they differ 
from the larger stones of which the mission walls were built, for in this 
masonry the natural cleavage is utilized for the face of the wall. 

The differences between the masonry of the mission and that of the 
room in which we found a chief buried were very marked. In the 
former, elongated slabs of stone, without pecking or dressing, were 
universal, while in the latter the squared stones were laid in courses 
and neatly fitted together. The partitions likewise are narrower, being 
not more than 6 inches thick. 

















• • 


* 





































































BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. CX 



EXCAVATED ROOM IN THE WESTERN MOUND OF AWATOBI 









FEWKES] 


AWATOBI BURIAL CUSTOMS 


617 


SMALLER AWATOBI 

About an eighth of a mile west of the great mounds of Awatobi there 
is a small rectangular ruin, the ground plan of which is well marked, 
and in which individual houses are easy to trace. Like its larger neigh¬ 
bor, it stands on the very edge of the mesa. None of its walls rise above 
the surface of the mounds, which, however, are considerably elevated 
and readily distinguished for some distance. The pueblo was built in 
the form of a rectangle of single-story houses surrounding a plaza. 
There was an opening or entrance on the southern side, near which 
is a mound, possibly the remains of a kiva. A trail now passes directly 
through the ruin and down the mesa side to Jeditoh valley, probably 
the pathway by which the ancient inhabitants ascended the cliff. The 
Hopi Indians employed by me in excavating Awatobi had no name for 
this ruin and were not familiar with its existence before I pointed it out 
to them. For want of a better interpretation I have regarded it as a 
colony of old Awatobi, possibly of later construction. 

Excavations in its mounds revealed no objects of interest, although 
fragments of beautiful pottery, related to that found at Awatobi and 
Sikyatki, show that it must have been made by people of the older or 
best epoch 1 of Tusayan ceramics. 

MORTUARY REMAINS 

Although it is well known that the ancient inhabitants of the great 
houses of the Gila-Salado drainage buried some of their dead within 
their dwellings, or in other rooms, and that the same mortuary practice 
was observed in ancient Zuni-Cibola, up to the time of my excavations 
this form of burial had never been found in Tusayan. I am now able 
to record that the same custom was practiced at Awatobi. 

'Excavation made in the southeastern declivity of the western mounds 
led to a burial chamber in which we found the well-preserved skeleton 
of an old man, apparently a priest. The body was laid on the floor, 
at full length, and at his head, which pointed southward, had been 
placed, not mortuary offerings of food in bowls, but insignia of his 
priestly office. Eight small objects of pottery were found on his left side 
(plate cxn, a, b, d, e). Among these was a symmetrical vase of beau¬ 
tiful red ware (plate cxi, a) richly decorated with geometric patterns, 
and four globular paint pots, each full of pigment of characteristic 
color. These paint pots were of black-and-white ware, and contained, 
respectively, yellow ocher, sesquioxide of iron, green copper carbonate, 

■So far as our limited knowledge of the older ruins of Tusayan goes, we find that their inhabitants 
must have been as far removed from rude Sliohonean nomads as their descendants are today. The 
settlement at the early site of Walpi is reported to have been made in very early times, some legends 
stating that it occurred at a period when the people were limited to one family—the Snake. The frag¬ 
ments of pottery which I have found in the mounds of that ancient habitation are as fine and as 
characteristic of Tusayan as that of Sikyatki or Awatobi. It is inferior to none in the whole pueblo 
area, and betrays long sedentary life of its makers before it was manufactured. 





618 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


and micaceous hematite (plate cxm, a , d, e) such as is now called 
yayala and used by the Snake priests in the decoration of their faces. 
There..were also many arrowpoiuts in an earthen colander, and a ladle 
was luted over the mouth of the red vase. My native excavators pro¬ 
nounced this the grave of a warrior j)riest. The passageways into this 
chamber of death had all been closed, and there were no other mortuary 
objects in the room. This was the only instance of intramural inter¬ 
ment which I discovered in the excavations at Awatobi, but a human 
bone was found on the floor of another chamber. So far as known the 
Awatobi people buried most of their dead outside the town, either in 
the foothills at the base of the mesa, or in the adjacent sand-dunes. 

The work of excavating the graves at the foot of the mesa was 
desultory, as I found no single place where many interments had been 
made. Several food vessels were dug up at a grave opened by Kbpeli, 
the Snake chief. I was not with him when he found the grave, but he 
called me to see it soon after its discovery. We took from this exca¬ 
vation a sandstone fetish of a mountain-lion, a fragment of the bottom 
of a basin perforated with holes as if used as a colander. Deposited 
in this fragment were many stone arrowheads, several fragments of 
green paint, a flat green paho ornamented with figures of dragon-flies 
in black. In addition to a single complete prayer-stick there were 
fragments of many others too much broken to be identified. One of 
these was declared by Kopeli to be a chief’s paho. The grave in which 
these objects were found was situated about halfway down the side of 
the mesa to the southward of the highest mounds of the western 
division of the pueblo. 

Here and there along the base of all the foothills south of Awatobi 
are evidences of former burials, and complete bowls, dippers, and vases 
were unearthed (plate cxm, b, c). The soil is covered with fragments 
of pottery, and in places, where the water has washed through them, 
exposing a vertical section of the ground, it was found that the frag¬ 
ments of pottery extended through the soil sometimes to a depth of 
fifty feet below the surface. There was evidence, however, that this 
soil had been transported more or less by rain water, which often 
courses down the sides of the mesa in impetuous torrents. 

Human bones and mortuary vessels were found south of the mis¬ 
sion near the trail, at the foot of the mesa. In a single grave, a foot 
below the surface, there were two piles of food bowls, each pile con¬ 
taining six vessels, all broken. 

The cemetery northwest of Awatobi, where the soil is sandy and easy 
to excavate, had been searched by others, and many beautiful objects 
of pottery taken from it. This burial place yielded many bowls (plates 
Clxvii, clxviii) and jars, as well as several interesting pahos similar to 
those from Sikyatki, which I shall later describe but which have never 
before been reported from Awatobi. It was found that one of these 
prayer-sticks was laid over the heart of the deceased, and as the skele- 


BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 


SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. CXI 



VASE AND MUGS FROM THE WESTERN MOUNDS OF AWATOBI 


M.W.H. 





















FEWKES] 


THE ALOSAKA SHRINE 


619 


ton was in a sitting posture, with the hand on the breast, the prayer- 
stick may thus have been held at the time of burial. Our success 
in finding places of interment on all sides of Sikyatki, irrespective of 
direction, leads me to suspect that further investigation of the sand- 
dunes north of Awatobi will reveal graves at that point. 

I have already called attention to the great abundance of charred 
corn found in the rooms north of the mission. Renewed work in this 
quarter revealed still greater quantities of this corn stacked in piles, 
sometimes filling the entire side of a room. Evidently, as I have else¬ 
where shown, the row of rooms at this part of the ruin were burned 
with all their contents. The corn was not removed from the granaries, 
as it would have been if the place had been gradually abandoned. 
When an Indian burns stored corn in such quantities as were found at 
Awatobi we can not believe he was bent on pillage, and it is an 
instructive fact that thus far no stacked corn has been found in the 
western or most ancient section of Awatobi. 

SHRINES 

Although Awatobi was destroyed almost two centuries ago, the 
shrines of the old pueblo were used for many years afterward, and are 
even now frequented by some of the Mishoninovi priests. In one of 
these ancient depositories two wooden figurines sat in state up to within 
a few years ago. 

This shrine lies below the ruins of the mission, among the bowlders 
on the side of the cliff, about fifty feet from the edge of the mesa, and 
is formed in an eroded cavity in the side of a bowlder of unusual size. 
A rude wall had been built before this recess, which opened to the 
east, and apparently the orifice was closed with logs, which have now 
fallen in. The present appearauce of this shrine is shown in the 
accompanying illustration (figure -57). 

In former times two wooden idols, called the Alosaka , were kept in 
this crypt, in much the same manner as the Dawn Maid is now sealed 
up by the Walpiaus, when not used in the New-fire ceremony, as I have 
described in my account of Naacnaiya. 1 Mr Thomas V. Keam, not 
knowing that the Awatobi idols were still used in the Mishoiliuovi 
ritual, had removed them to his residence, but when this was known a 
large number of priests begged him to return them, saying that they 
were still used in religious exercises. With that consideration which 
he has always shown to the Indians, Mr Keam allowed the priests to 
take the images of Alosaka. The figurines were this time carried to 
Mishoninovi, the priests sprinkling a line of meal along the trail over 
which they carried them. The two idols 3 have not been seen by white 

•Journal of American Folk-lore, vol. v, No. xviii, 1892. 

8 There is a rude sketch of these two idols of A losaka in the arcliives of tho Hemenway Expedition. 
They represent figurines about 4 feet tall, with two horns on the head not unlike those of the Tewan 
clowns or gluttons called Paiakyamd. As so little is known of the Mishoninovi ritual, the rites in 
which they are used are at present inexplicable. 




620 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


people since that time, and are now, no doubt, in some hidden crypt 
near the Mishoninovi village. 

There is a shrine of simple character, near the ruins of smaller Awa- 

tobi, which bears evidence of antiquity (figure 258). It consisted, in 

1892, of a circle of small stones in which were two large water-worn 
' » 



Fig. 257—Alosaka shrine at Awatobi 

stones and a fragment of petrified wood. There was no evidence that 
it had lately been used. 

On the extreme western point of the mesa, at the very edge of the 
clift, there was also a simple shrine (figure 259). Judging from its 
general appearance, this, likewise, had not been used in modern times, 
but there were several old prayer-sticks not far away. 

At the foot of the mesa, below the point last mentioned, however, 
there is a shrine (figure 260), the earth of which contained hundreds 
of prayer-sticks, in all stages of decay, while some of them had been 
placed there only a few days before my visit. This shrine, I was told, 










BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 


SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. CXII 



M.W.H. d FULLSJZE 


e FULL SIZE 


b FULL SIZE 


PAINT POTS. BOWL, AND DIPPER FROM AWATOBI 



















FEWKES] 


MODERN SHRINES AT AWATOBI 


621 





is still used by the Misliofiinovi priests in their sacred observances. 
Among other forms of prayer offerings there were many small wooden 
cylinders with radiat¬ 
ing sticks connected 
with yarn, the sym¬ 
bolic prayer offering 
for squashes. 1 In for¬ 
mer time8 Antelope 
valley was the garden 
spot of Tusayan, and 
from what we know of 
the antiquity of the 
cultivation of squashes in the Southwest, there is little doubt that they 
were cultivated by the Awatobians, and that similar offerings were 

made by the ancient farmers 
for a good crop of these vege¬ 
tables. 


Fig. 258—Shrine at Awatobi 


POTTERY 


Fig. 259—Shrine at Awatobi 


The mounds of Awatobi are 
entirely covered with frag¬ 
ments of pottery of all the 
various kinds and colors 
known to ancient Tusayan. 
There were found coiled and 
indented ware, coarse undeco¬ 
rated vessels, fine yellow and smooth ware with black-and-white and red 
decorations. There is no special kind of pottery peculiar to Awatobi, 
but it shares 
with the other 
Tusayan ruins 
all types, save 
a few frag- 
ments of black 
glazed ware, 
which occur 
elsewhere. 

It is highly 
probable that 
the few speci¬ 
mens of black- 
and-white ware 
found in this 
ruin were not 
manufactured FlG ‘ 26 °- Shrine at Aw8tobi 

in the village, and the red ware probably came from settlements to the 


1 See the ear-ornament of the mask shown in plate cvm, of the Fifteenth Annual Report. 









622 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


south, on the Little Colorado. These colors are in part due to the 
character of the paste which was used, and the clay most often selected 
by Awatobi potters made a fine yellow vessel. The material from 
which most of the vessels were manufactured came, no doubt, from a 
bank near the ruiu, where there is good evidence that it was formerly 
quarried. 

Three coarse clay objects, such as might have been used for roof 
drains, were found. The use of these objects, possibly indicated by their 
resemblance, is not, however, perfectly clear. Their capacity would not 
be equal to the torrents of rain which, no doubt, often fell on the house¬ 
tops of Awatobi, and they can hardly be identified as spouts of large 
bowls, since they are attached to a circular disk with smooth edges. In 
waut.of a satisfactory explanation I have provisionally regarded them 
as water spouts, but whether they are from ancient vessels or from the 
roofs of houses I am in much doubt. 1 

■ 

One of the most instructive fragments of pottery taken from the 
ruins is that of a coarse clay vessel, evidently a part of a fiat basin or 
saucer. The rim of this vessel is punctured with numerous holes, 
the intervals between which are not greater than the diameter of the 
perforations. 

Several platter-like vessels with similar holes about their rims have 
been taken from other ruins of Jeditoh valley and mesa, the holes 
being regarded as having been made as a means of suspension. Near 
a sacred spring called Kawaika, 2 not far from Jeditoh, near Awatobi, 
a large number of beautiful vessels with similar holes in their rims 
were excavated by Mr T. V. Ream, and later passed into the collec¬ 
tions of the Hemenway Expedition, now installed at Cambridge. They 
are of all kinds of ware, widely different in shape, the jiumber of mar¬ 
ginal perforations varying greatly. As they were found in large num¬ 
bers near a spring they are regarded as sacrificial vessels, in which food 
or sacred meal was deposited as an offering to some water deity. The 
handle of a mug (plate cxi,/) from Awatobi, so closely resembles the 
handles of certain drinking cups taken from the cliff-houses of San Juan 
valley that it should be specially mentioned. There is in the handle 
of this mug aT-sliape opening quite similar in form to the peculiar 
doorways of certain cliff'dwellings. The mug is made of the finest 
white ware, decorated with black lines arranged in geometric patterns. 
So close is its likeness in form and texture to cliff-house pottery that 
the two may be regarded as identical. Moreover, it is not impossible 
that the object may have been brought to Tusayau from Ts£gi canyon, 
in the cliff-houses of which Hopi clans 3 lived while Awatobi was in its 
prime, and, indeed, possibly after the tragedy of 1700. The few frag- 

1 Similar “spouts” were found by Mindeleff at Awatobi, and alike use of them is suggested in his 
valuable memoir. 

a The Keresan people are called by the same name, Kawaika, which, as hitherto explained, is spe¬ 
cially applied to the modern pueblo of Laguna. 

3 The Asa people who came to Tusayan from the Kio Grande claim to have lived for a few genera¬ 
tions in Tubka or Tstgi (Chelly) canyon. 



BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 


SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. CXIII 



MW. H 


O FUUS1ZE 


d FULLSIZE 


e FULL SIZE 


POTTERY FROM INTRAMURAL BURIAL AT AWATOBI 





















FEWKES] 


AWATORI AND SIKYATKI POTTERY COMPARED 


623 


ments of Tsegi canyon pottery known to me have strong resemblances 
to ancient Hopi ware, although the black-and-white variety pre¬ 
dominates. 

The collection of pottery from Awatobi is, comparatively speaking, 
small, but it shows many interesting forms. Awatobi pottery may be 
classed under the same groups as other old Tusayan ceramics, but most 
of the specimens collected belong to the yellow, black and-white, and 
red varieties. It resembles that of Sikyatki, but bears little likeness to 
modern ware in texture or symbolism. One is impressed by the close 
resemblance between the Awatobi pottery and that from the ruins of 
the Little Colorado and Zufii, 1 which no doubt is explained, in part, by 
the identity in the constituents of the potter's clay near Awatobi with 
that in more, southerly regions. 

Evidences of Spanish influence may be traced on certain objects of 
pottery from Awatobi, especially on those obtained from the eastern 
mounds of the ruin. In most essentials, however, the Awatobi ware 
resembles that of the neighboring ruins, and is characteristically 
Tusayan. 

The differentiation in modern Cibolan and Tusayan symbolism is 
much greater than that of the ancient pottery from the same provinces, 
a fact which is believed to point to a similarity, possibly identity, of 
culture in ancient times. With this thought in mind, it would be highly 
instructive to study the ancient ruins of the Rio Grande region, as 
unfortunately no large collections of archeological objects from that part 
of the Southwest have been made. 2 

The majority of the bowls from Awatobi are decorated in geometric 
patterns and a few have animal or human figures. The symbols, as 
well as the pottery itself, can not be distinguished from those of Sikyatki. 
Fragments of glazed ware are not unknown at Awatobi, but so far as 
recorded, entire specimens have never been obtained from the latter 
ruin. 

In order that the character of the geometric designs on Awatobi 
pottery may be better understood, two plates are introduced to illus¬ 
trate their modifications in connection with my discussion of the geo¬ 
metric forms figured on Sikyatki ware. The figures on these bowls 
(plates clxvi, clxvii), with one or two exceptions, need no special 
description in addition to what is said of Sikyatki geometric designs, 
which they closely resemble. 

The cross-shape figure (plate clxvi, b) may profitably be studied in 
connection with the account of the modification of Sikyatki sun sym¬ 
bols. Evidences of the use of a white pigment as a slip were found on 

'The pottery of ancient Cibola is practically identical with that of the ruined pueblo9 of the Colo¬ 
rado Chiqnito, near Winslow, Arizona. 

*The specimens labeled “New Mexico” and “Arizona” are too vaguely classified to be of any 
service in this consideration. It is suggested that collectors carefully label their specimens with the 
exact locality in which they are found, giving care to their association and, when mortuary, to their 
position in the graves in relation to the skeletons. 



624 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


one or two fragments of fine pottery from Awatobi, but no decoration 
of this kind was observed on the Sikyatki vessels. The red ware is 
the same as that found in ancient Cibola, while one or two fragments 
of glossy black recall the type common to modern Santa Clara. 

Two bird-shape vessels, one made of black-and-white ware, the other 
red with black-and white decoration, were found at Awatobi. Large 
masses of clay suited to the potter’s art were not uncommonly found 
in the corners of the rooms or in the niches in their walls. Some of 
these masses are of fine paste, the others coarse with grains of saud. 
The former variety was used in making the finest Tusayan ceramics; 
the latter was employed in modeling cooking pots and other vessels of 
ruder finish. • 

Several flute-shape objects of clay, with flaring extremities, were 
found on the surface of the mounds of Awatobi, and one was taken 
from a Sikyatki grave. The use of these objects is unknown to me. 

Among the fragments of dippers from Awatobi are several with 
perforations in the bottom, irregularly arranged or in geometric form, 
as that of a cross. These colanders were rare at Sikyatki, but I find 
nothing in them to betray Spanish influence. 1 Handled dippers or 
mugs have been found so often by me in the prehistoric ruins of our 
Southwest that I can not accept the dictum that the mug form was not 
prehistoric, and the conclusion is legitimate that the Tusayan Indians 
were familiar with mugs when the Spaniards came amoug them. The 
handles of the dippers or ladles are single or double, solid or hollow, 
simply turned up at one end or terminating with the head of an animal. 
The upper side of the ladle handle may be grooved or convex. No 
ladle handle decorated with an image of a “mud-head” or clown priest, 
so common on modern ladles, was found either at Awatobi or Sikyatki. 

Rudely made imitations in miniature of all kinds of pottery, espe¬ 
cially of ladles, were common. These are regarded as votive offerings, 
from the fact that they were found usually in the graves of children, 
and were apparently used as playthings before they were buried. 

A common decoration on the handles of ladles is a series of short 
parallel lines arranged in alternating longitudinal and transverse zones. 
This form of decoration of ladle handles I have observed on similar 
vessels from the Casas Grandes of Chihuahua, and it reappears on pot¬ 
tery in all the ruins I have studied between Mexico and Tusayan. In 
the exhibit of the Mexican Government at Madrid in 1892-93 a fine 
collection of ancient pottery from Oaxaca was shown, and I have draw¬ 
ings of one of these ladles with the same parallel marks on the handle 
that are found on Pueblo ware from the Gila-Salado, the Cibola, and 
the Tusayau regions. 

The only fragment of pottery from Awatobi or Sikyatki with designs 
which could be identified with any modern picture of a katcina was 

1 1 am informed by Mr F. W. Hodge that similar fragments were found by the Hemenway Expedition 
in 1888 in the prehistoric ruins of the Salado. 




FEWKES] 


KATCINA CULT REVEALED BY POTTERY 


625 


found, as might be expected, in the former ruin. This small fragment 
is instructive, in that it indicates the existence of the katdna cult in 
Tusayan before 1700; but the rarity of the figures of these supernatu¬ 
ral beings is very suggestive. The fragment in question is of ancient 
ware, resembling the so-called orange type of pottery, and is appar¬ 
ently a part of the neck of a vase. The figure represents Wupamo, the 
Great-cloud katcina , and is marked like the doll of the same as it 
appears in the Powamu or February celebration at Walpi. 1 

The associates of the katdnas are the so-called u mud-heads” or 
clowns, an order of priests as widely distributed as the Pueblo area. In 
Tusayan villages they are called the Tcukuwympkia, and are variously 
personated. As they belong especially to the katcina cult, which is 
naturally supposed to have been in vogue at Awatobi, I was greatly 
interested in the finding of a fragment representing a grotesque head 
which reminded me of a glutton of the division of the Tcukuwympkia 
called Tcuekutu. While there may be some doubt of the validity of my 
identification, yet, taken in connection with the fragment of a vase with 
the face of Wupamo, I think there is no doubt that the katcina cult was 
practiced at Awatobi. 


STONE IMPLEMENTS 

Comparatively few stone implements, such as mauls, hammers, axes, 
and spearpoints, were found; but some of those unearthed from the 
mounds are finely finished, being regular in form and highly polished. 
There were many spherical stones, resembling those still sometimes used 
in Tusayan on important occasions as badges of authority. These stones 
were tied in a buckskin bag, which was attached to a stick and used 
as a warclub. Many of the axes were grooved for hafting; one of 
the specimens was doubly grooved and had two cutting edges. By 
far the largest number were blunt at one pole and sharpened at the 
opposite end. A single highly polished specimen (plate clxxi, f) 
resembles a type very common in the Gila Salado ruins. 

Arrowheads, some of finely chipped obsidian, were common, being 
frequently found in numbers in certain mortuary bowls. Three or four 
specimens of other kinds of implements fashioned from this volcanic 
glass were picked up on the surface of the mounds. 

Metates, or flat stones for grinding corn, were dug up in several 
houses; they were in some instances much worn, and were eagerly 
sought by the Indian women who visited our camp. These specimens 
differ in no respect from similar mealing stones still used at Walpi 
and other modern Tusayan pueblos. Many were made of very coarse 

1 The head is round, with lateral appendages. The face is divided into two quadrants above, with 
chin blackened, and marked with zigzag lines, which are lacking in modern pictures. In the left 
hand the figure holds a rattle. The body is wanting, but the breast is decorated with rectangles. 

17 ETH, PT 2-11 




626 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


stone * 1 for use in hulling corn preparatory to grinding; others were of 
finer texture, and both kinds were accompanied by the corresponding 
inano or muller held in the hand in grinding meal. 

The. modern Hopi often use as seats in their kivas cubical blocks 
of stone with depressions in two opposite sides which serve as hand¬ 
holds by which they are carried from place to place. Two of these 
stones, about a cubic foot in size, were taken out of the chamber 
which I have supposed to be the Awatobi kiva. In modern Tusayan 
these seats are commonly made of soft sandstone, and are so few in 
number that we can hardly regard them as common. They are often 
used to support the uprights of altars when they are erected, and I 
have seen priests grind pigments in the depressions. Incidentally, it 
may be said that I have never seen priests use chairs in any kiva cele¬ 
bration; nor do they have boxes to sit upon. During the droning of 
the tedious songs they have nothing under them except a folded 
blanket or sheepskin. 

Excavations in the Awatobi rooms revealed several interesting shal¬ 
low mortars used for grinding pigments, but no one of these is com¬ 
parable in finish with that shown in the accompanying illustration 
(plate clxxii, a). This object is made of a hard stone in the form of a 
perfect parallelopipedon with slightly rounded faces. The depression 
is shallow, and when found there was a discoloration of pigment upon 
its surface. 

In almost every house that bore evidence of former occupancy, beau¬ 
tifully made inullers and metates were exhumed. These were ordinarily 
in place in the corner of the chamber, and were much worn, as if by 
constant use. In one grave there was found a met ate reversed over a 
skeleton, probably that of a woman—although the bones were so disin¬ 
tegrated that the determination of the sex of the individual was impos¬ 
sible. Several of these metates were taken by Indian women, who 
prized them so highly that they loaded the stones on burros and carried 
them ten miles to Walpi, where they are now applied to the same purpose 
for which they were used over two centuries ago. 

On the surface of the mesa, beyond the extension of the ground plan 
of the ruin, there are many depressions worn in the rocks where the 
Awatobi women formerly whetted their grinding stones, doubtless in 
the manner practiced by the modern villagers of Tusayan. These 
depressions are especially numerous near the edge of the cliff, between 
the eastern and western sections of the ruin. 2 

1 A single metate of lava or malpais was excavated at Awatobi. This object must have had a long 
journey before it reached the village, since none of the material from which it was made is found 
within many miles of the ruin. 

1 There are many fine pictographs, some of which are evidently ancient, on the cliffs of the Awatobi 
mesa. These are in no respect characteristic, and among them I have seen the awata (bow), 
honani (badger's paw), tciia (snake), and omowtlh (rain-cloud). On the side of the precipitous wall of 
the mesa south of the western mounds there is a row of small hemispherical depressions or pits, with a 

groove or line on one side. There is likewise, not far from this point, a realistic figure of a vulva, 
not very unlike the atha symbols on Thunder mountain, near Zufii. 



BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 


< 



BONE IMPLEMENTS FROM AWATOBI AND SIKYATKI 






















FEWKES] 


CEREMONIAL USE OF BONE WHISTLES 


G 27 


BONE OBJECTS 

A large and varied collection of bone implements was gathered at 
Awatobi, and a few additional specimens were exhumed from Sik} atki. 
It is worthy of note that, as a rule, bone implements are more common 
in houses than in graves; and since the Awatobi excavations were con¬ 
ducted mostly in living rooms, while those at Sikyatki were largely 
in the cemeteries, the bone implements from the former pueblo far 
outnumber those from the latter. 

The collection consists of awls, bodkins, needles, whistles, and tubes 
made of the bones of birds and quadrupeds. The two animals which 
contributed more than others to these objects were the turkey and the 
rabbit, although there were fragments of the horns and shin-bones of 
the antelope or deer. Several of these specimens were blackened by 
fire, and one was stained with green pigment. There was also evidence' 
of an attempt at ornamenting the implements by incised lines, while 
one was bound with string. Bones of animals which had served for 
food were very common in all the excavations at Awatobi, especially 
near the floors of the houses. With the exception of a number of 
large bones of a bear, found in one of the houses in the northern range 
of the eastern section, these bones were not carefully collected. 

Plate cxiv gives a general idea of some of the forms of worked 
bone which were obtained. Figure a shows an awl, for the handle of 
which one of the trochanters was used, the point at the opposite end 
being very sharp; b and c are similar objects, but slighter, and more 
carefully worked; d is a flattened bone implement perforated with two 
holes, and may have been used as a needle. There are similar imple¬ 
ments in the collection, but with a single terminal perforation. Other 
forms of bone awls are shown in e,f, </, and j. 

There are a number of bone objects the use of which is problematical. 
One of the best of these is a section of the tibia of a bird, cut longi¬ 
tudinally, convex on the side represented in plate cxiv, h, and concave 
on the opposite side. When found this bone fragment was tied to a 
second similar section by a string (remnants of which can be seen in 
the figure), thus forming a short tube. The use of this object is not 
known to me, nor were any satisfactory suggestions made by the 
Indians whom I consulted in relation to it. This does not apply, how¬ 
ever, to the object illnstrated in plate cxiv, i , which was declared by 
several Hopi to be a bird whistle, similar to that used in ceremonials 
connected with medicine making. 

The manner in which a bone whistle is used in imitation of a bird’s 
call has been noticed by me in the accounts of several ceremonials, and 
I will therefore quote the description of its use in the Nimankatcina 
at Walpi. 1 


1 Journal of American Ethnology and Archceology, vol. II, No. 1, p. 77. 



628 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


Then followed an interval of song and accompanying rattle, at the termination of 
which Intiwa’s associate took the bird whistle ( tatiikpi ) and blew three times into 
the liquid, making a noise not unlike that produced by a toy bird whistle. This 
was repeated four times, accompanied by song and rattle. He first inserted the 
bone whistle on the north side, then on the other cardinal points in turn. The 
monotonous song and rattle then ceased, and Intiwa sprinkled corn pollen on the 
ears of corn in the water, and upon the line of pahos. 

The object of the whistle is to call the summer birds which are 
associated with planting and harvesting. The whistle figures in many 
rites, especially in those connected with the making of medicine or 
charm liquid. 


MISCELLANEOUS OBJECTS 
Ornaments in the Form of Birds and Shells 

In the excavations, as well as on the surface of the mounds at Awa- 
tobi, were found many imitations of marine shells made of clay, often 
painted red and ranging from the size of half a dollar to that of the 
thumb nail (plate clxxiii, j-m). On the convex surface of these objects 
parallel lines are etched, and they are pierced at the valves for suspen¬ 
sion. I have never found them suspended from the neck of a skeleton, 
although their general appearance indicates that they were used as 
ornaments. Similarly made clay images of birds (plate clxxiii, g , h , i) 
with extended wings were also found, and of these there are several 
different forms in the collection. A small perforated knob at the breast 
served for attachment. In the absence of any better explanation of 
these objects, I have regarded them as gorgets, or pendants, for per¬ 
sonal decoration. 

In the Awatobi collections there are several small disks made appar¬ 
ently of pipe clay, which also were probably used as ornaments. These 
are very smooth and wonderfully regular iu shape—in one case with a 
perforation near the rim. Turquois and shell beads were found in con¬ 
siderable numbers in the excavations at Awatobi, but, as they are sim¬ 
ilar to those from Sikyatki, I have reserved a discussion of them for 
following pages. A few fragments of shell armlets and wristlets were 
also exhumed. These were made generally of the Pacific coast Pec- 
tunculus, so common in the ruins of the Little Colorado. 1 

Clay Bell 

Copper bells are said to be used in the secret ceremonials of the mod¬ 
ern Tusayan villages, and in certain of the ceremonial foot races metal 
bells of great age and antique pattern are sometimes tied about the 
waists of the runners. Small copper hawk bells, 2 found in southern 


1 In the expedition of 1896 there were found a large number of shell ornaments, which will be 
described in a forthcoming report of the operations during that year. See the preliminary account 
iu the article “Pacific Coast Shells in Tusayan Ruins,” American Anthropologist, December, 1896. 

2 One of these bells was found in a grave at Chaves Pass during the field work of 1896. 



FEWKES] 


CLAY AND COPPER BELLS COMPARED 


G29 


Arizonian ruins, are identical in form and make with those used by the 
ancient Nahuatl people. So far as the study of the antiquities of the 
ruins of Tusayan immediately about the inhabited towns has gone, we 
have no record of the landing of copper bells of any great age. It was, 
therefore, with considerable interest that I exhumed from one of the 
rooms of the westernmost or oldest section of Awatobi a clay bell (fig¬ 
ure-201) made in exact imitation of oue of the copper bells that have 
been reported from several southern ruins (plate clxxiii, a). While 
it may be said that it would be more decisive evidence of the prehistoric 
character of this object if Awatobi had not been under Spanish influ¬ 
ence for over a century, still, from the position where it was dug up and 
its resemblance to metal bells which are undoubtedly prehistoric, there 
seems to be little reason to question its age. As with the imitation of 
marine shells in clay, it is probable that in this 
bell we have a facsimile of a metal bell with 
which the ancient Tusayan people were undoubt¬ 
edly familiar. 1 

Textile Fabrics 

In the very earliest accounts which we have 
of Tusayan the Hopi are said to raise cotton and 
to weave it into mantles. These mantles, or 
“towels” as they were styled by Espejo, were, 
according (o Castaneda, ornamented with em¬ 
broidery, and had tassels at the corners. In 
early times garments were made of the fiber of Flg ' 2 ! 1 rr l c^y bel i fromAwa - 
the maguey, and of feathers and rabbit skins. 

Fabrics made of animal fiber are mentioned by Friar Marcos de Miza, 
and he was told that the inhabitants of Totouteac obtained the 
material from which they were made from animals as large as the 
greyhounds which the father had with him. The historical references 
which can be mentioned to prove that the Tusayan people, when they 
were first visited, knew how to spin and weave are numerous, and 
need not be quoted here. That the people of Awatobi made cotton 
fabrics there is no doubt, for it is distinctly stated by early visitors 
that they were acquainted with the art of weaving, and some of the 
presents made to the first Spanish explorers were of native cotton. 

The ai’cheological evidence supports the historical in this particular, 
and several fragments of cloth were found in our excavations in the west¬ 
ern mounds of the village. Tlaese fragments were of cotton and agave 
fiber, of cotton alone, and in one instance of the hair of some unknown 
animal. Mo signs of the famous l-abbit-skin blankets were seen, and 
from the perishable nature of the material of which they were made it 
would be sti’ange if any traces had been discovered. At Sikyatki a small 



1 Bells made of clay are not rare in modem Tusayan villages, and while their form is different from 
that of the Awatohi specimen, and the size larger, there seems no reason to doubt the antiquity of the 

specimen from the ruin of Antelope mesa. 







(530 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


textile fragment made of feathers was found in one of the burial vases, 
but no feather garments or even fragments of the same were unearthed 
at Awatobi. 

A woven rope of agave fiber and many charred strings of the same 
material were found in a niche in the wall of a house in the eastern 
section, and from the same room there was taken a string, over a yard 
long, made of human hair. It was suggested to me by one of the Hopi 
that this string was part of the coiffure of au Awatobi maid, and that 
it was probably used to tie up her hair in whorls above the ears, as is 
still the Hopi custom. 

The whole number of specimens of textile fabrics found at Awatobi 
was small, and their character disappointing for study, for the condi¬ 
tions of burial in the soil are not so good for their preservation as in the 
dry caves or cliff houses, from which beautifully preserved cloth, made 
at a contemporary period, has been taken. 

Prayer-sticks—Pigments 

Among the most significant mortuary objects used by the ancient 
Tusayan people may be mentioned the so-called prayer-sticks or palios. 
These were found in several graves, placed on the breast, in the hand, 
or at the side of the person interred, and have a variety of form, as 
shown in the accompanying illustrations (plates clxxiv, clxxv). As 
I shall discuss the forms and meaning of prayer-sticks in my accouut 
of Sikyatki, where a much larger number were found, I will simply 
mention a few of the more striking varieties from Awatobi. 

One of the most instructive of these objects is flat in shape, painted 
green, and decorated with figures of a dragon-fly. As this insect is a 
symbol of rain, its occurrence on mortuary objects is in harmony with 
the Hopi conception of the dead which will later be explained. 

Pahos, in the form of flat slats with a notched extension at one end 
were common, but generally were poorly preserved. The jirayer-sticks 
from the shrine in the middle of the rooms iu the plaza of the eastern 
section crumbled into fragments when exposed to the air, but they were 
apparently small, painted green, and decorated with black spots. On 
several of the prayer-sticks the impressions of the string and feathers 
that were formerly attached are still readily seen. It is probable that 
the solution of a carbonate of copper, with which the green pahos were 
so colored, contributed to the preservation of the wood of which they 
had been manufactured. 

The only pigments detected on the prayer-sticks are black, red, and 
green, and traces of red are found also on the inner surface of a stone 
implement from a grave at the base of the mesa. All the pigments used 
by the modern Tusayan Indians were found iu the intramural burial 
already described. My Hopi workmen urged me to give them small frag¬ 
ments of these paints, regarding them efficacious in their ceremonials. 


FEWKES] 


INTRUSIVE RELICS IN AWATOBI RUINS 


631 


Objects Showing Spanish Influence 

TVe would naturally expect to find many objects of Caucasian origin 
in the ruins of a pueblo which had been under Spanish influence for a 
century. I have already spoken of certain architectural features in 
the eastern part of Awatobi which may be traced to the influence of 
the Spanish missionaries, and of small objects there were several differ¬ 
ent. kinds which show the same thing. The old iron knife-blade already 
mentioned as having been found among the corn in a storage chamber in 
the northern row of houses was not the only metallic object found. Not 
far from the mission there were unearthed many corroded iron nails, a 
small hook.of the same metal, a piece of cast copper, and a fragment of 
what appeared to be a portion of a bell. There were several pieces of 
glass, the surfaces of which had become ground by the sand which had 
beaten upon them during the years in which they had been exposed. 
There was found also a fragment of a green glazed cup, which was 
undoubtedly of Spanish or Mexican make, and sherds of white china 
similar to that sold toijay by the traders. These latter specimens were, 
as a rule, found on the surface of the ground. 

It will therefore appear that the archeology of Awatobi supports the 
documentary evidence that the pueblo was under Spanish influence for 
some time, and the fact that all the above-mentioned objects were taken 
on or in the eastern mounds emphasizes the conclusion that this section 
of the town was the part directly under Spanish influences. Nothing 
of Spanish manufacture was found in the rooms of the western mounds, 
but from this negative evidence there is no reason to suspect that this 
sectiou of Awatobi was not inhabited contemporaneously with that in 
the vicinity of the mission. 

The Ruins of Sikyatki 

TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE OF THE PUEBLO 

Very vague ideas are current regarding the character of Hopi cul¬ 
ture prior to Tobar’s visit to Tusayan in 1540, and with the exception 
of the most meager information nothing concerning it has come down 
to us from early historical references in the sixteenth century. It is 
therefore interesting to record all possible information in regard to 
these people prior to the period mentioned, and this - must be done 
mainly through archeology. 

Although there are many Tusayan ruins which we have every reason 
to believe are older than the time of Coronado, no archeologist has 
gathered from them the evidences bearing on prehistoric Tusayan cul¬ 
ture which they will undoubtedly yield. Large and beautiful collec¬ 
tions of pottery ascribed to Tusayan ruins have shown the excellent 
artistic taste of the ancient potters of this region, indicating that in 
the ceramic art they were far in advance of their descendants. But 


632 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. AXN. 17 


these collections have failed to teach the lesson they might have taught, 
from the fact that data concerning the objects composing them are so 
indefinite. Very little care had been taken to label these collections 
accurately or to collect any specimens but those which were strikingly 
beautiful or commercially valuable. It was therefore with the hope of 
giving a more precise and comprehensive character to our knowledge 
of Tusayan antiquities that I wished to excavate one of the ruins of 
this province which was undoubtedly prehistoric. Conditions were 
favorable for success at the mounds called by the Indians Sikyatki. 1 
These ruins are situated near the modern Tusayan pueblos of East 
Mesa, from which I could hire workmen, and not far from Keam’s Can¬ 
yon, which could be made a base of supplies. The existing legends 
bearing on these ruins, although obscure, are sufficiently definite for 
all practical purposes. 

I find no mention of Sikyatki in early historical documents, nor can 
the name be even remotely identified with any which has been given to 
a Tusayan pueblo. My knowledge of the mounds which mark the site 
of this ancient village dates back to 1892, when I visited them with 
one of the old men of Walpi, who then and there narrated the legend 
of its destruction by the Walpians previously to the advent of the 
Spaniards. I was at that time impressed by the extent of the mounds, 
and prepared a rough sketch of the ground plan of the former houses, 
but from lack of means was unable to conduct any systematic excava¬ 
tion of the ruin. 

Comparatively nothing concerning the ruin of Sikyatki has been 
published, although its existence had been known for several years 
previously to my visit. In his brief account Mr Victor MindelefF 
speaks of it as two prominent knolls, “about 400 yards apart,” the 
summits of which are covered with house walls. He also found por¬ 
tions of walls on intervening hummocks, but gives no plan of the ruin. 
The name, Sikyatki, is referred to the color of the sandstone of which 
the walls were built. He found some of the rooms were constructed of 
small stones, dressed by rubbing, and laid in mud. The largest cham¬ 
ber was stated to be 94 by 44 feet, and it was considered that many of 
the houses were “built in excavated places around the rocky summits 
of the knolls.” 3 Mr Mindeleff identified the former inhabitants with the 
ancestors of the Kokop people, and mentioned the more important 
details of their legeud concerning the destruction of the village. 


1 Many of the specimens in the well-known Keam collection, now in the Tusayan room of the Pea¬ 
body Museum at Cambridge, are undoubtedly from Sikyatki, and still more are from Awatobi. Since 
the beginning of my excavations at Sikyatki it has come to he a custom for the Hopi potters to dis¬ 
pose of, as Sikyatki ware, to unsuspecting white visitors, some of their modern objects of pottery. 
These fraudulent pieces are often very cleverly made. 

’Architecture of Tusayan and Cibola, op. cit., pp. 20,21. 

’These rooms I failed to find. One of the rocky knolls may be that called by me the “acropolis.” 
The second knoll I cannot identify, unless it is the elevation in continuation of the same side toward 
the east. Possibly he confounded the ruin of Kukiichomo with that of Sikyatki. 





FEWKES] 


THE FIREWOOD PEOPLE AT SIKYATKI 


033 


We can rely on the statement that Sikyatki was inhabited by the 
Kokop or Firewood people of Tusayan, who were so named because 
they obtained fire from wood by the use of drills. These people are 
represented today at Walpi by Katci, whose totem is a picture of 
Masauwu, the God of Fire. It is said that the home of the Firewood 
people before they built Sikyatki was at Tebunki, or Fire-house, a round 
ruin northeastward from Keam’s canyon. They were late arrivals 
in Tusayan, coming at least after the Flute people, and probably before 
the Honani or Badger people, who brought, I believe, the katcina cult. 
Although we can not definitely assert that this cultus was unknown at 
Sikyatki, it is significant that in the ruins no ornamental vessel was 
found with a figure of a katcina mask, although these figures occur on 
modern bowls. The original home of the Kokop people is not known, 
but indefinite legends ascribe their origin to Bio Grande valley. They 
are reputed to have had kindred in Antelope valley and at the Fire¬ 
house, above alluded to, near Eighteen-mile spring. 

The ruin of Fire house, one of the pueblos where the Kokop people 
are reputed to have lived before they built Sikyatki, is situated on the 
periphery of Tusayan. It is built of massive stones and differs from 
all other ruins in that province in that it is circular in form. The round 
type of ruin is, however, to be seen in the two conical mounds on the 
mesa above Sikyatki, which was connected in some way with the inhab¬ 
itants who formerly lived at its base. 

The reason the Kokop people left Fire-house is not certain, but it is 
said that they came in conflict with Bear clans who were entering the 
province from the east. Certain it is that if the Kokop people once 
inhabited Fire house they must have been joined by other clans when 
they lived at Sikyatki, for the mounds of this pueblo indicate a village 
much larger than the round ruin on the brink of the mesa northeast of 
Keam's canyon. The general ground plan of the ruin indicates an 
inclosed court with surrounding tiers of houses, suggesting the eastern 
type of pueblo architecture. 

The traditional knowledge of the destruction of Sikyatki is A’ery 
limited among the present Hopi, but the best folklorists all claim that 
it was destroyed by warriors from Walpi and possibly from Middle 
Mesa. Awatobi seems not to have taken part in the tragedy, while 
Hauo and Sichomovi did not exist when the catastrophe took place. 

The cause of the destruction of Sikyatki is not clearly known, and 
probably was hardly commensurate with fhe result. Its proximity to 
Walpi may have led to disputes over the boundaries of fields or the 
ownership of the scanty water supply. The people who lived there 
were intruders and belonged to clans not represented in Walpi, which 
in all probability kept hostility alive. The early Tusayan peoples 
did not readily assimilate, but quarreled with one another even when 
sorely oppressed by common enemies. 


634 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETII. ANN. 17 


There is current in Walpi a romantic story connected with the over¬ 
throw of Sikyatki. It is said that a son of a prominent chief, disguised 
as a Tcatcina, offered a prayer-stick to a maiden, and as she received it 
he cut her throat with a stone knife. He is said to have escaped to the 
mesa top and to have made his way along its edge to his own town, 
taunting his pursuers. It is also related that the Walpians fell upon 
the village of Sikyatki to avenge this bloody deed, but it is much more 
likely that there was ill feeling between the two villages for other 
reasons, probably disputes about farm limits or the control of the 
water supply, inflamed by other difficulties. The inhabitants of the two 
pueblos came into Tusayan from different directions, and as they may 
have spoken different languages and thus have failed to understand 
each other, they may have been mutually regarded as interlopers. 
Petty quarrels no doubt ripened into altercations, which probably led 
to bloodshed. The forays of the Apache from the south and the Ute 
from the north, which began at a later period, should naturally have 
led to a defensive alliance; but in those early days confederation was 
not dreamed of and the feeling between the two pueblos culminated in 
the destruction of Sikyatki. This was apparently the result of a 
quarrel between two pueblos of East Mesa, or at least there is no inti¬ 
mation that the other pueblos took prominent part in it. It is said 
that after the destruction some of those who escaped fled to Oraibi, 
which would imply that the Walpi and Oraibi peoples, even at that early 
date, were not on very friendly terms. If, however, the statement 
that Oraibi was then a distinct pueblo be true, it in a way affords a 
suggestion of the approximate age 1 of this village. 

There was apparently a more or less intimate connection between the 
inhabitants of old Sikyatki and those of Awatobi, but whether or not 
it indicates that the latter was founded by the refugees from the former 
I have not been able definitely to make out. All my informants agree 
that on the destruction of Sikyatki some of its people fled to Awatobi, 
but no one has yet stated that the Kokop people were represented in 
the latter pueblo. The distinctive clans of the pueblo of Antelope 
mesa are not mentioned as living in Sikyatki, and yet the two pueblos 
are said to have been kindred. The indications are that the inhabitants 
of both came from the east—possibly were intruders, which may have 
been the cause of the hostility entertained by both toward the Walpians. 
The problem is too complex to be solved with our present limited 
knowledge in this direction, and archeology seems not to afford very 
satisfactory evidence one way or the other. We may never know 
whether the Sikyatki refugees founded Awatobi or simply fled to that 
pueblo for protection. 


1 The legends of the origin of Oraibi are imperfectly known, but it has been stated that the pueblo 
was founded by people from Old Shunopovi. It seems much more likely, however, that our knowledge 
is too incomplete to accept this conclusion withont more extended observations. The composition of 
the present inhabitants indicates amalgamation from several quarters, and neighboring ruins should 
he studied with this thought in mind. 




FEWKES] 


THE DESTRUCTION OF SIKYATKI 


635 


There appears to be no good evidence that Sikyatki was destroyed 
by fire, nor would it seem that it was gradually abandoned. The larger 
beams of the houses have disappeared from many rooms, evidently 
having been appropriated in building or enlarging other pueblos. 

There is nothing to show that any considerable massacre of the 
people took place when the village was destroyed, in which respect it 
differs considerably from Awatobi. There is little doubt that many 
Sikyatki women were appropriated by the Walpians, and in support of 
this it is stated that the Kokop people of the present Walpi are the 
descendants of the people of that clan who dwelt at Sikyatki. This 
conclusion is further substantiated by the statements of one of the 
oldest members of the Kokop phratry who frequently visited me while 
the excavations were in progress. 

The destruction of Sikyatki and its consequent abandonment doubt¬ 
less occurred before the Spaniards obtained a foothold in the country. 
The aged Hopi folklorists insist that such is the case, and the excava¬ 
tions did not reveal any evidence to the contrary. If we add to the 
negative testimony that Sikyatki is not mentioned in any of the early 
writings, and that no fragment of metal, glass, or Spanish glazed pottery 
has been taken from it, we appear to have substantial proof of its 
prehistoric character. 

In the early times when Sikyatki was a flourishing pueblo, Walpi 
was still a small settlement on the terrace of the mesa just below the 
present town that bears its name. Two ruins are pointed out as the 
sites of Old Walpi, one to the northward of the modern town, and a 
second more to the westward. The former is called at present the Ash- 
heap house or pueblo, the latter Kisakobi. It is said that the people 
whose ancestors formed the nucleus of the more northerly town moved 
from there to Kisakobi on account of the cold weather, for it was too 
muck in the shadow of the mesa. Its general appearance would indi¬ 
cate it to be older than the more westerly ruin, higher up on the 
mesa. It was a pueblo of some size, and was situated on the edge 
of the terrace. The refuse from the settlement was thrown over the 
edge of the decline, where it accumulated in great quantities. This 
debris contains many fragments of characteristic pottery, similar to 
that from Sikyatki, and would well repay systematic investigation. 
No walls of the old town rise more than a few feet above the surface, 
for most of the stones have long ago been used in rebuilding the pueblo 
on other sites. Kisakobi was situated higher up on the mesa, and 
bears every appearance of being more modern than the ruin below. 
Its site may readily be seen from the road to Keam’s canyon, on the ter¬ 
race-like prolongation of the mesa. Some of the walls are still erect, 
and the house visible for a great distance is part of the old pueblo. 
This, I believe, was the site of Walpi at the time the Spaniards visited 
Tusayan, and I have found here a fragment of pottery which I believe 
is of Spanish origin. The ancient pueblo crowned the ridge of the ter- 


636 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


|ETH. ANN. 17 


race which narrows here to 30 or 40 feet, so that ancient Walpi was an 
elongated pueblo, with narrow passageways and no rectangular court. 
I should judge, however, that the pueblo was not inhabited for a great 
period, but was moved to its present site after a few generations of occu¬ 
pancy. The Ash-hill village was inhabited contemporaneously with 
Sikyatki, but Kisakobi was of later construction. Neither Sichomovi 
nor Hano was in existence when Sikyatki was in its prime, nor, indeed, 
at the time of its abandonment. In 1782 Morfi spoke of Sichomovi 
as a pueblo recently founded, with but fifteen families. Hano, although 
older, was certainly not established before 1700. 1 

The assertions of all Hopi traditionists that Sikyatki is a prehis¬ 
toric ruin, as well as the scientific evidence looking the same way, are 
most important facts in considering the weight of deductions in regard 
to the character of prehistoric Tusayan culture. 

Although we have no means of knowing how long a period has 
elapsed since the occupancy and abandonment of Sikyatki, we are 
reasonably sure that objects taken from it are purely aboriginal in 
character and antedate the inception of European influence. It is cer¬ 
tain, however, that the Sikyatki people lived long enough in that 
pueblo to develop a ceramic art essentially peculiar to Tusayan. 

NOMENCLATURE 

The commonly accepted definition of Sikyatki is “yellow house” 
( sikya , yellow; lei, house). One of the most reliable chiefs of Walpi, 
however, called my attention to the fact that the hills in the locality 
were more or less parallel, and that there might be a relationship 
between the parallel valleys and the name. The application of the term 
“yellow” would not seem to be very appropriate so far as it is dis¬ 
tinctive of the general color of the pueblo. The neighboring spring, 
however, contains water which after standing some time has a yellow¬ 
ish tinge, and it was not unusual to name pueblos from the color of 
the adjacent water or from some peculiarity of the spring, which was 
one of the most potent factors in the determination of the site of a 
village. Although the name may also refer to a cardinal point, a 
method of nomenclature followed in some regions of the Southwest, if 
such were the case in regard to Sikyatki it would be exceptional in 
Tusayan. 

FORMER INHABITANTS OF SIKYATKI 

The origin of the pueblo settlement at Sikyatki is doubtful, but as I 
have shown in my enumeration of the clans of Walpi, the Kokop (Fire¬ 
wood) and the Isauiih (Coyote) phratries which lived there are supposed 

1 It is distinctly stated that the Tanoan families whose descendants now inhabit Hano were not in 
Tusayan when Awatobi fell. To he sure they may have been sojourning in some valley east of the 
province, which, however, is not likely, since they were “invited” to East Mesa for the specific pur¬ 
pose of aiding the Hopi against northern nomads. Much probability attaches to a suggestion that 
they belonged to the emigrants mentioned by contemporary historians as leaving the Rio Grande on 
account of the unsettled condition of the country after the great rebellion of 1680. 











BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. CXV 



SIKYATKI MOUNDS FROM THE KANELBA TRAIL 















FEWKES] 


THE CLANS OF SIKYATKI 


G37 


to have come into Tusayan from the far east or the valley of the Bio 
Grande. The former phratry is not regarded as one of the earliest 
arrivals in Tusayan, for when its members arrived at Walpi they 
found living there the Flute, Snake, and Water-house phratries. It is 
highly probable that the Firewood, or as they are sometimes called the 
Fire, people, once lived in the round pueblo known as Fire-house, and as 
the form of this ruin is exceptional in Tusayan, and highly character¬ 
istic of the region east of this province, there is archeological evidence 
of the eastern origin of the Fire people. Perhaps the most intelligent 
folklorist of the Kokop people was Hasyunweve, who died a few years 
ago—unfortunately before I had been able to record all the traditions 
which he knew concerning his ancestors. At the present day Katci, 
his successor 1 in these sacerdotal duties in the Antelope-Snake mys¬ 
teries, claims that his people formerly occupied Sikyatki, and indeed the 
contiguous fields are still cultivated by members of tljat phratry. 

It is hardly possible to do more than estimate the population of 
Sikyatki when in its prime, but I do not believe that it was more 
than 500 ; 2 probably 300 inhabitants would be a closer estimate if we 
judge from the relative population to the size of the pueblo of Walpi 
at the present time. On the basis of population given, the evidences 
from the size of the Sikyatki cemeteries would not point to an occu¬ 
pancy of the village for several centuries, although, of course, the 
strict confines of these burial places may not have been determined 
by our excavations. The comparatively great depth at which some 
of the human remains were found does not necessarily mean great 
antiquity, for the drifting sands of the region may cover or uncover 
the soil or rocks in a very short time, and the depth at which an object 
is found below the surface is a very uncertain medium for estimating 
the antiquity of buried remains. 

GENERAL FEATURES 

The ruin of Sikyatki (plates cxv, cxvi) lies about three miles east of 
the recent settlement of Tauoan families at Isba or Coyote spring, 
near the beginning of the trail to Hano. Its site is in full view from 
the road extending from the last-mentioned settlement to Kearn’s 
canyon, and lies among the hills just below the two pyramidal elevations 
called Kiikiichomo, which are visible for a much greater distance. 
When seen from this road the mounds of Sikyatki are observed to be 
elevated at least 300 feet above the adjacent cultivated plain, but at 
the ruin itself this elevation is scarcely appreciable, so gradual is the 

1 The succession of priests is through the elan of the mother, so that commonly, as in the case of 
Katci, the nephew takes the place of the uncle at his death. Some instances, however, have come to 
my knowledge where, the clan having become extinct, a son has been elevated to the position made 
vacant hy the death of a priest. The Kokop people at Walpi are vigorous, numbering 21 mem¬ 
bers if we include the Coyote and Wolf clans, the last mentioned of which may he descendants of 
the former inhabitants of Kiikiichomo, the twin ruins on the mesa above Sikyatki. 

2 In this census I have used also the apparently conservative statement of Vetaucurt that there 
were 800 people in Awatobi at the end of the seventeenth oentury. 



638 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


southerly decline to the arroyo which drains the plain. The ruin is 
situated among foothills a few hundred yards from the base of the 
mesa, and in the depression between it and the mesa there is a stretch 
of sand in which grow peach trees and a few stunted cedars. At this 
point, likewise, there is a spring, now feeble in its flow from the 
gradually drifting sand, yet sufficient to afford a trickling stream by 
means of which an enterprising native, named Tcino, irrigates a small 
garden of melons and onions. On all sides of the ruin there are barren 
stretches of sand relieved in some places by stunted trees and scanty 
vegetation similar to that of the adjacent plains. The soil in the plaza 
of the ruin is cultivated, yielding a fair crop of squashes, but is useless 
for corn or beaus. 

Here and there about the ruins stand great jagged bowlders, reliev¬ 
ing what would otherwise be a monotonous waste of sand. Oue of 
these stony outcrops forms what 1 have called the “acropolis” of 
Sikyatki, which will presently be described. On the eastern side the 
drifting sand has so filled in around the elevation on which the ruin 
stands that the ascent is gradual, and the same drift extends to the 
rim of the mesa, affording access to the summit that otherwise would 
necessitate difficult climbing. Along the ridge of this great drift there 
runs a trail which passes over the mesa top to a beautiful spring, on 
the other side, called Kanelba. 1 

The highest point of the ruin as seen from the plain is the rocky 
eminence rising at the western edge, familiarly known among the 
members of my party as the “acropolis.” As one approaches the ruin 
from a deep gulch on the west, the acropolis appears quite lofty, and a 
visitor would hardly suspect that it marks the culminating point of a 
ruin, so similar does it appear to surrounding hills of like geologic 
character where no vestiges of former house-walls appear. 

The spring from which the inhabitants of the old pueblo obtained 
their water supply lies between the ruin and the foot of the mesa, 
nearer the latter. The water is yellow in color, especially after it has 
remained undisturbed for some time, and the quantity is very limited. 
It trickles out of a bed of clay in several places and forms a pool from 
which it is drawn to irrigate a small garden and a grove of peach trees. 
It is said that when Sikyatki was in its prime this spring was larger 
than at present, and I am sure that a little labor spent in digging out 
the accumulation of sand would make the water more wholesome 
and probably sufficiently abundant for the needs of a considerable 
population. 

The nearest spring of potable water available for our excavation 
camp at Sikyatki was Kanelba, or Sheep spring, one af the best sources 
of water supply in Tusayan. The word Kanelba, containing a Spanish 
element, must have replaced a Hopi name, for it is hardly to be sup¬ 
posed that this spring was not known before sheep were brought into 

1 Kernel = Spanish camera, sheep; ba —water, spring. 

































































































































































































































BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. CXVI 





# 

« 

% 


A to 3 X 3 W 3t D 








GROUND PLAN OF SIKYATKI 




































FEWKES] 


WATER SUPPLY AT SIKYATKI 


639 


the country. There is a legend that formerly the site of this spring was 
dry, when an ancient priest, who had deposited his tiponi , or chieftain’s 
badge, at the place, caused the water to flow from the ground; at pres¬ 
ent however the water rushes from a hole as large as the arm in the 
face of the rock, as well as from several minor openings. It is situated 
on the opposite side of the mesa from Sikyatki, a couple of miles 
northeastward from the ruin. 

Half-way up the side of the mesa, about opposite Sikyatki, there is a 
large reservoir, used as a watering place for sheep. The splash of the 
water, as it falls into this reservoir, is an unusual sound in this arid 
region, and is worth a tramp of many miles. There are many evi¬ 
dences that this spring was a popular one in former times. As it 
is approached from the top of the mesa, a brief inspection of the 
surroundings shows that for about a quarter of a mile, on either side, 
there are signs of ancient terraced gardens, walled in with rows of 
stones. These gardens have today greatly diminished in size, as com¬ 
pared with the ancient outlines, and only that portion which is occu¬ 
pied by a grove of peach trees is now under cultivation, although 
there is plenty of water for the successful irrigation of a much larger 
tract of land than the gardens now cover. 1 Judging from their size, 
many of the peach trees are very old, although they still bear their 
annual crop of fruit. Everything indicates, as the legends relate, that 
these Kanelba gardens, the walls of which now form sheep corrals, 
were long ago abandoned. 

The terraces south of the Kanelba peach grove resemble the lower 
terraces of Wipo. About 100 rods farther south, along the foot of 
the mesa, on the same level, are a number of unused fields, and a 
cluster of house remains. The whole of this terrace is of a type which 
shows greater action of the weather than the others, but the boundaries 
of the fields are still marked with rows of stones. The adjacent foothills 
contain piles of ashes in several places, as if the sites of ancient pottery 
kilns, and very old stone inclosures occur on the top of the mesa above 
Kanelba. All indications seem to point to the ancient occupancy of 
the region about Kanelba by many more farmers than today. Possibly 
the inhabitants of Sikyatki, which is only two or three miles away, fre¬ 
quented this place and cultivated these ancient gardens. Kanelba is 
regarded as a sacred spring by several Ilopi religious societies of East 
Mesa. The Snake priests of Walpi always celebrate a feast there on 
the day of the snake hunt to the east in odd years, 2 while in the alter¬ 
nate years it is visited by the Flute men. 

1 Wipo spring, a few miles northward from the eastern end of the mesa, would he an excellent site 
for a Government school. It is sufficiently convenient to the pueblos, has an abundant supply of 
potable water at all seasons, and cultivable fields in the neighborhood. 

2 The boy who brought our drinking water from Kanelba could not be prevailed upon to visit it on 
the day of the snake hunt to the east in 1895, on the ground that no one not a member of the society 
should be seen there or take water from it at that time. This is probably a phase of the taboo of all 
work in the world-quarter in which the snake hunts occur, when the Snake priests are engaged in 
capturing these reptilian “elder brothers.” 




640 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


The present appearance of Sikyatki (plate cxv) is very desolate, and 
when visited by our party previously to the initiation of the work, 
seemed to promise little in the way of archeological results. No walls 
were standing above ground, and the outlines of the rooms were very 
indistinct. All we saw at that time was a series of mounds, irregu¬ 
larly rectangular in shape, of varying altitude, with here and there 
faint traces of walls. Prominent above all these mounds, however, was 
the pinnacle of rock on the northwestern corner, rising abruptly from 
the remainder of the ruin, easily approached from the west and sloping 
more gradually to the south. This rocky elevation, which we styled 
the acropolis, was doubtless once covered with houses. 

On the western edge of the ruin a solitary farmhouse, used during 
the summer season, had been constructed of materials from the old 
walls, and was inhabited by an Indian named Lelo and his family dur¬ 
ing our excavations. He is the recognized owner of the farm land 
about Sikyatki and the cultivator of the soil in the old plaza of the 
rnius. Jakwaina, an enterprising Tewau who lives not far from Isba, 
the spring near the trail to Hano, has also erected a modern house 
near the Sikyatki spring, but it had not been completed at the time of 
our stay. Probably never since its destruction in prehistoric times have 
so many people as there were in our party lived for so long a time at 
this desolate place. 

The disposition of the mounds show that the ground plan of Sikyatki 
(plate cxvi) was rectangular in shape, the houses inclosing a court in 
which are several mounds that may be the remains of kivas. The 
highest range of rooms, and we may suppose the most populous part 
of the ancient pueblo, was on the same side as the acropolis, where a 
large number of walled chambers in several series were traced. 

The surface of what w^s formerly the plaza is crossed by rows of 
stones regularly arranged to form gardens, in which several kinds of 
gourds are cultivated. In the sands north of the ruin there are many 
peach trees, small and stunted, but yearly furnishing a fair crop. 
These are owned by Tcino, 1 and of course were planted long after the 
destruction of the pueblo. 

In order to obtain legends of the former occupancy and destruction 
of Sikyatki, I consulted Nasyuilweve, the former head of the Kokop 
people, and while the results were not very satisfactory, I learned that 
the land about Sikyatki is still claimed by that phratry. Nasyuilweve, 2 

1 Tcino lives at Sicliomovi, and in the Snake dance at Walpi formerly took the part of the old man 
who calls out the words, “ Awahaia etc, at the kisi, before the reptiles are carried about the plaza. 
These words are Keresan, and Tcino performed this part on account of his kinship. He owns the 
grove of peach trees because they are on land of his ancestors, a fact confirmatory of the belief that 
the people of Sikyatki came from the Rio Grande. 

2 Ifasyunweve, who died a few years ago, formerly made the prayer-stick to Hasauwftli, the Fire or 
Death god. This he did as one of the senior members of the Kokop or Firewood people, otherwise 
known as the Fire people, because they made fire with the fire-drill. On his death his place in the 
kiva was taken by Katci. NasvuFi weve was Intiwa's chief assistant in the Walpi katcinas , and wore 
the mask of Eototo in the ceremonials of the Niman. All this is significant, and coincides with the 
theory that katcinas are incorporated in the Tusayan ritual, that Eototo is their form of Masauwfih, 
and that he is a god of fire, growth, and death, like his dreaded equivalent. 






FEWKES] 


METHOD OF EXCAVATION 


641 


Katci, aud other prominent Kokop people occupy and cultivate the 
land about Sikyatki on the ground of inheritance from their ancestors 
who once inhabited the place. 

Two routes were taken to approach Sikyatki—one directly across the 
sandy plain from the entrance to Keam's canyon, following for some 
distance the road to East Mesa; the other along the edge of the mesa, 
on the first terrace, to the cluster of houses at Coyote spring. The 
trail to the pueblos of East Mesa ascends the cliff just above Sikyatki 
spring, and joins that to Kauelba or Sheep spring, not far from 
Kiikuchomo, the twin mounds. By keeping along the first terrace a 
well traveled trail, with interesting views of the plain and the ruin, 
joins the old wagon road to Wala, the u gap” of East Mesa, at a higher 
level than the cluster of Tewan houses at Isba. In going and return¬ 
ing from their homes our Hopi workmen preferred the trail along the 
mesa, which we also often used; but the climb to the mesa top from 
the ruin is very steep and somewhat tiresome. 

We prosecuted our excavations at Sikyatki fora few days over three 
weeks, choosing as a site for our camp a small depression to the east of 
the ruin near a dwarf cedar at the point where the trail to Kauelba 
passes the ruin. The place was advantageously near the cemeteries, 
and not too far from water. For purposes other than cooking and 
drinking the Sikyatki spring was used, the remainder of the supply 
being brought from Kauelba by means of a burro. 

I employed Indian workmen at the ruin, and found them, as a rule, 
efficient helpers. The zeal which they manifested at the beginning of 
the work did not flag, but it must be confessed that toward the close 
of the excavations it became necessary to incite their enthusiasm by 
prizes, and, to them, extraordinary offers of overalls and calico. They 
at first objected to working in the cemeteries, regarding it as a desecra¬ 
tion of the dead, but several of their number overcame their scruples, 
even handling skulls aud other parts of skeletons. The Snake chief, 
Kopeli, however, never worked with the others, desiring not to dig iu 
the graves. Respecting his feeliugs, I allotted him the special task of 
excavating the rooms of the acropolis, which he performed with much 
care, showing great interest in the results. At the close of our daily 
work prayer-offerings were placed in the trenches by the Indian work¬ 
men, as conciliatory sacrifices to Masanwuh, the dread God of Death, to 
offset any malign influence which might result from our desecration of 
his domain. A superstitious feeling that this god was not congenial to 
the work which was going on, seemed always to haunt the minds of the 
laborers, and once or twice I was admonished by old men, visitors from 
Walpi, not to persist in my excavations. The excavators, at times, 
paused in their work and called my attention to strange voices echoing 
from the cliffs, which they ascribed, half in earnest, to Masauwuh. 

The Indians faithfully delivered to me all objects which they found 
iu their digging, with the exception of turquoises, many of which, I 
17 ETH, PT 2-12 




BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. CXVII 


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EXCAVATED ROOMS ON THE ACROPOLIS OF SIKYATKI 

















FEWKES] 


FEATURES OF SIKYATKI RUIN 


643 


rites in tlie Hopi villages occur, not in kivas, but in ordinary dwelling 
rooms in the village. It has yet to be shown that there were special 
kivas in prehistoric Tusayan. 

The longer axis of the ruin is about north and south; the greatest 
elevation is approximately 50 feet. Rocks outcrop only at one place, 
the remainder of the ruin being covered with rubble, sand, stones, and 
fragments of pottery. The mounds are not devoid of vegetation, for 
sagebrush, cacti, and other desert genera grow quite profusely over 
their surface; but they are wholly barren of trees or large bushes, and 
except in the plaza the ruin area is uncultivated. As previously stated, 
Sikyatki is situated about^50 or 300 feet above the plain, and when 
approached from Ream’s canyon appears to be about halfway up the 
mesa height. On several adjacent elevations evidences of form ?r fires, 
or places where pottery was burned, were found, and one has not to go 
far to discover narrow seams of an impure lignite. Here and there are 
considerable deposits of selenite, which, as pointed out by Sitgreaves in 
his report on the exploration of the Little Colorado, looks like frost 
exuding from the ground in early spring. 

THE ACROPOLIS 

During the limited time devoted to the excavation of Sikyatki it was 
impossible, in a ruin so large, to remove the soil covering any con¬ 
siderable number of rooms. The excavations at different points over 
such a considerable area as that covered by the mounds would have 
been more or less desultory and unsatisfactory, but a limited section 
carefully opened would be much more instructive and typical. While, 
therefore, the majority of the Indian workmen were kept employed at 
the cemeteries, Kopeli, the Snake chief, a man in whom I have great 
confidence, was assigned to the excavation of a series of rooms at the 
highest point of the ruin, previously referred to as the acropolis (figure 
262). Although his work in these chambers did not yield such rich 
results as the others, so far as the number of objects was concerned, 
he succeeded in uncovering a number of rooms to their floors, and 
unearthed many interesting objects of clay and stone. A brief descrip¬ 
tion of these excavations will show the nature of the work at that 
point. 

The acropolis, or highest point of Sikyatki, is a prominent rocky ele¬ 
vation at the western angle, and overlooks the entire ruin. On the side 
toward the western cemetery it rises quite abruptly, but the ascent is 
more gradual from the other sides. The surface of this elevation, on 
which the houses stood, is of rock, and originally was as destitute of 
soil as the plaza of Walpi. This surface supported a double series 
of rooms, and the highest point is a bare, rocky projection. 

From the rooms of the acropolis there was a series of chambers, 
probably terraced, sloping to the modern gardens now occupying 
the old plaza, and the broken walls of these rooms still protrude from 


G44 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


/ 

the surface in many places (plate cxvm). When the excavations 
on the acropolis were begun, no traces of the biserial rows of rooius 
were detected, although the remains of the walls were traceable. The 
surface was strewn with fragments of pottery and other evidences of 
former occupancy. 

On leveling the ground and throwing off the surface stones, it was 
found that the narrow ridge which formed the top of the acropolis 
was occupied by a double line of well-built chambers which show every 
evidence of having been living rooms. The walls were constructed of 
squared stones set in adobe, with the inner surface neatly plastered. 
Many of the rooms communicated by means of passageways with adja- 



Fig. 262—The acropolis of Sikyatki 

cent chambers, some of them being provided with niches and shelves. 
The average height of the standing walls revealed by excavation, as 
indicated by the distance of the floor below the surface of the soil, was 
about 5 feet. 

The accompanying illustration (plate cxvm) shows a ground plan 
of nine of these rooms, which, for purposes of reference, are lettered 
a to l. A description of each, it is hoped, will give an idea of a typical 
room of Sikyatki. Room a is rectangular in shape, 5 feet 3 inches by 
6 feet 8 inches, and is 5 feet 8 inches deep. It has two depressions 
in the floor at the southeastern corner, and there is a small niche in the 
side wall above them. Some good specimens of mural plastering, 











BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 


SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. CXVIII 



PLAN OF EXCAVATED ROOMS ON THE ACROPOLIS OF SIKYATKI 

(Dimensions in feet and inches) 












i 


fewkes] the ACROPOLIS OF SIKYATKI G45 

much blackened by soot, are found on the eastern wall. Room a has no 
passageway into room b , but it opens into tbe adjoining room c by an 
opening in the wall 3 feet 4 inches wide, with a threshold 9 inches 
high. 

The shape of room b is more irregular. It is 8 feet 1 inch long by 4 
feet 5 inches wide, and the door is 5 feet 2 inches below the surface. 
In one corner there is a raised triangular platform 2 feet 7 inches above 
the door. A large cooking pot, blackened with soot, was found in one 
corner of this room, and near it was a circular depression in the door 
17 inches in diameter, evidently a fireplace. 

Room c is smaller than either of the preceding, and is the only one 
with two passageways into adjoining chambers. Remains of wooden 
beams in a fair state of preservation were found on the doors of rooms 
c and />, but they were not charred, as is so often the case, nor were 
there any ashes except in the supposed fireplace. 

Room d is larger than those already mentioned, being 7 feet 8 inches 
by 5 feet, and connects with room c by means of a passageway. Rooms 
e and /communicate with each other by an opening 16 inches wide. 
We found the doors of these rooms 4 feet below the surface. The 
length of room e is 8 feet. 

Room /is 6 feet 8 inches long and of the same width as e. The three 
chambers g, 7t, and i are each 6 feet 9 inches wide, but of varying width. 
Room g is 5 feet 2 inches, li is 8 feet 6 inches, and i, the smallest of all, 
only a foot wide. These three rooms have no intercommunication. 

The evidence of former fires in some of these rooms, afforded by soot 
on the walls and ashes in the depressions identified as old fireplaces, is 
most important, in one or two places I broke off a fragment of the 
plastering and found it to be composed of many strata of alternating 
black and adobe color, indicating successive plasterings of the room. 
Apparently when the surface wall became blackened by smoke it was 
renewed by a fresh layer or wash of adobe iu the manner followed iu 
renovating the kiva walls today. 1 

An examination of the dimensions of the rooms of the acropolis will 
show that, while small, they are about the average size of the chambers 
in most other southwestern ruins. They are, however, much smaller 
than the rooms of the modern pueblo of Walpi or those of the cliff ruins 
in the Red-rock region, elsewhere described. Evidently the roof was 
2 or 3 feet higher than the top of the present walls, and the absence of 
external passageways would seem to indicate that entrance was through 
the roof. The narrow chamber, i, is no smaller than some of those which 
were excavated at Awatobi, but unless it was a storage bin or dark 
closet for ceremonial paraphernalia its func ion is not known tome. 

'The replastering of kivas at Walpi takes place during the Powamu , an elaborate katcina celebra¬ 
tion. I have noticed that in this renovation of the kivas one corner, as a rule, is left unplastered, 
hut have elicited no satisfactory explanation of this apparent oversight, which, no doubt, has sig¬ 
nificance. Someone, perhaps overimaginative, suggested to me that the unplastered corner was the 
same as the break in encircling lines on ancient pottery. 




646 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


Tlie mural plastering was especially well done in rooms g and h, a sec¬ 
tion thereof showing many successive thin strata of soot and clay, 
implying long occupancy. No chimneys were found, the smoke, as is 
the case with that from kiva fires today, doubtless finding an exit 
through the hatchway in the roof. 

MODERN GARDENS 

The whole surface of the ancient plaza of Sikyatki is occupied by 
rectangular gardens outlined by rows of stones. These are of modern 
construction and are cultivated by an enterprising Hopi who, as 
previously mentioned, has erected a habitable dwelling on one of the 
western mounds from the stones of the old ruin. These gardens are 
planted yearly with melons and squashes, and stones forming the out¬ 
lines serve as wind-breaks to protect the growing plants from drift¬ 
ing sand. The plotting of the plan of these gardens was made in 1891, 
when a somewhat larger part of the plaza was under cultivation than 
in 1895. 1 

There is a grove of dwarf peach trees in the sands between the 
northern side of the ruin and the mesa along the run through which 
sometimes trickles a little stream from the spring. These trees belong 
to an inhabitant of Sichomovi named Tciuo, who, it is claimed, is a 
descendant of the ancient Sikyatkians. The trees were of course 
planted there since the fall of the village, on land claimed by the Kokop 
phratry by virtue of their descent from the same phratral organization 
of the ancient pueblo. 2 The spring shows no evidence of having been 
walled up, but apparently has been filled in by drifting sand since the 
time that it formed the sole water supply of the neighboring pueblo. 
It still preserves the yellow color mentioned in traditions of the place. 

THE CEMETERIES 

By far the largest number of objects found at Sikyatki were gath¬ 
ered from the cemeteries outside the ruin, and were therefore iportuary 
in character. It would seem that the people buried their dead a short 
distance beyond the walls, at the three cardinal points. The first of 
these cemeteries was found in the dune between the ruin and the 
peach trees below the spring, and from its relative position from the 
pueblo has been designated the northern cemetery. The cemetery 
proper lies on the edge of the sandy tract, and was first detected by 
the finding of the long-bones of a human skeleton projecting from the 
soil. The position of individual graves was indicated usually by small, 
oblong piles of stones; but, as this was not an invariable sign, it was 

’I was aided in making this plan by the late .T G. Owens, my former assistant in the field work of 
the Hemenway Expedition. It was prepared with a few simple instruments, and is not claimed to 
be accurate in all particulars. 

! The existence of these peach trees near Sikyatki suggests, of course, an abandonment of the neigh¬ 
boring pueblo in historio times, but I hardly think it outweighs other stronger proofs of antiquity. 





FEWKES] 


HOPI COSMOGONY 


647 


deemed advisable to extend long trenches across the lower part of the 
dune. Asa rule, the deeper the excavations the more numerous and 
elaborate were the objects revealed. Most of the skeletons were in a 
poor state of preservation, but several could have been saved had we 
the proper means at our disposal to care for them. 

ISTo evidence of cremation of the dead was found, either at Awatobi 
or Sikyatki, nor have I yet detected any reference to this custom among 
the modern Hopi Indians. They have, however, a strange concept of 
the purification of the breath body, or shade of the dead, by fire, which, 
although I have always regarded it as due to the teaching of Christian 
missionaries, maybe aboriginal in character. This account of the judg¬ 
ment of the dead is as follows: 

There are two roads from the grave to the Below. One of these is a 
straight way connected with the path of the sun into the Underworld. 
There is a branch trail which divides from this straight way, passing 
from fires to a lake or ocean ( patublm ). At the fork of the road sits 
Tokonaka, and when the breatli-body comes to this place this chief 
looks it over and, if satisfied, he says “ Um-pac lo-la-mai, ta ai ,” “You 
are very good; go on.” Then the breath body passes along the straight 
way to the far west, to the early Sipapu , the Underworld from which it 
came, the home of Miiiyinwu. Another breath body comes to the fork 
in the road, and the chief says, “You are bad,’’and he conducts it along 
the crooked path to the place of the first fire pit, where sits a second 
chief, Tokonaka, who throws the bad breath-body into the fire, and 
after a time it emerges purified, for it was not wholly bad. The chief 
says, “You are good now,” and carries it back to the first chief, who 
accepts the breath-body and sends it along the straight road to the 
west. 

If, on emerging from the first fire, the soul is still unpurified, or not 
sufficiently so to be accepted, it is taken to the second fire pit and cast 
into it. If it emerges from this thoroughly purified, in the opinion of 
the judge, it is immediately transformed into a ho-ho-ya-Uh, or prayer- 
beetle. All the beetles we now see in the valleys or among the mesas 
were once evil Hopi. If, on coming out of the second fire pit, the breath- 
body is still considered bad by the chief, he takes it to the third fire, 
and, if there be no evil in it when it emerges from this pit, it is meta¬ 
morphosed into an ant, but if unpurified by these three fires—that is, 
if the chief still finds evil left in the breath-body—he takes it to a fourth 
fire and again casts it into the flames, where it is utterly consumed, the 
only residue being soot on the side of the pit. 

I have not recorded this as a universal or an aboriginal belief among 
the Hopi, but rather to show certain current ideas which may have 
been brought to Tusayau by missionaries or others. The details of the 
purification of the evil soul are characteristic. 

The western cemetery of Sikyatki is situated among the hillocks 
covered with surface rubble below a house occupied in summer by a 



648 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


Hopi and liis family. From the nature of the soil the excavation of 
this cemetery was very difficult, although the mortuary objects were 
more numerous. Repeated attempts to make the Indians work in a 
systematic manner failed, partly on account of the hard soil and partly 
from other reasons. Although the lower we went the more numerous 
and beautiful were the objects exhumed, the Indians soon tired of 
deep digging, preferring to confine their work to within two or three 
feet of the surface. At many places we found graves uuder and 
between the huge bowlders, which are numerous in this cemetery. 

The southern cemetery lies between the outer edge of the ruin on 
that side and the decline to the plain, a few hundred feet from the 
southern row of houses. Two conspicuous bowlders mark the site of 
most of the excavations in that direction. The mortuary objects from 
this cemetery are not inferior in character or number to those from 
the other burial places All attempts to discover a cemetery on the 
eastern side of the pueblo failed, although a single food basin was 
brought to the camp by an Indian who claimed he had dug it out of the 
deep sand ou the eastern side of the ruins. Another bowl was found 
in the sand drift near the trail over the mesa to Kanelba, but careful 
investigation failed to reveal any systematic deposit of mortuary vessels 
east of the ruin . 1 

The method of excavation pursued iu the cemeteries was not so 
scientific as I had wished, but it was the only practicable one to be 
followed with native workmen. Having found the location of the 
graves by means of small prospecting holes sunk at random, the work¬ 
men were aligned and directed to excavate a single long, deep trench, 
removing all the earth as they advanced. It was with great difficulty 
that the Indians were taught the importance of excavating to a suffi¬ 
cient depth, and even to the end of the work they refused to be taught 
not to burrow. In their enthusiasm to get the buried treasures they 
worked very well so long as objects were found, but became at once 
discouraged when relics were not so readily forthcoming and went off 
prospecting in other places when our backs were turned. A shout that 
anyone had discovered a new grave in the trench was a signal for the 
others to stop work, gather around the place, light cigarettes, and 
watch me or my collaborators digout the specimens with knives. This 
we always insisted on doing, for the reason that in their haste the 
Indians at first often broke fragile pottery after they had discovered it, 
and in spite of all precautions several fine jars and bowls were thus 
badly damaged by them. It is therefore not too much to say that most 
of the vessels which are now entire were dug out of the impacted sand 
by Mr Hodge or myself. 

'The position of the cemeteries in ancient Tusayan ruins is by no means uniform. They are 
rarely situated far from the houses, and are sometimes just outside the walls. While the dead were 
seldom carried far from tho village, a sandy locality was generally chosen and a grave excavated a 
few feet deep. Vsually a few stones were placed on the surface of the ground over the burial place, 
evidently to protect the remains from prowling beasts. 





FEWKES] 


SIKYATKI MORTUARY DEPOSITS 


649 


No rule could be formulated in regard to the place where the pottery 
would occur, and often the first indication of its presence was the 
stroke of a shovel on the fragile edge of a vase or bowl. Having once 
found a skeleton, or discolored sand which indicated the former pres¬ 
ence of human remains, the probability that burial objects were nearby 
was almost a certainty, although in several instances even these signs 
failed. 

A considerable number of the pottery objects had been broken when 
the soil and stones were thrown on the corpse at interment. So many 
were entire, however, that I do not believe any considerable number 
were purposely broken at that time, and none were found with holes 
made in them to “kill’’ or otherwise destroy their utility. 

No evidences of cremation—no charred bones of man or animal in 
or near the mortuary vessels—were found. From the character of the 
objects obtained from neighboring graves, rich and poor were appar¬ 
ently buried side by side in the same soil. Absolutely no evidence of 
Spanish influence was encountered in all the excavations at Sikyatki— 
no trace of metal, glass, or other object of Caucasian manufacture such 
as T have mentioned as having been taken from the ruins of Awatobi— 
thus confirming the native tradition that the catastrophe of Sikyatki 
antedated the middle of the sixteenth century, when the first Spaniards 
entered the country. 

It is remarkable that in Sikyatki we found no fragments of basketry 
or cloth, the fame of which among the Pueblo Indians was known to 
Coronado before he left Mexico. That the people of Sikyatki wore cot¬ 
ton kilts no one can doubt, but these fabrics, if they were buried with 
the dead, had long since decayed. Specimens of strings and ropes of 
yucca, which were comparatively abundant at Awatobi, were not found 
at Sikyatki; yet their absence by no means proves that they were not 
used, for the marks of the strings used to bind feathers to the mortu¬ 
ary pahos, on the green paint with which the wood was covered, may 
still be readily seen. 

The insight into ancient beliefs and practices afforded by the numer¬ 
ous objects found at Sikyatki is very instructive, and while it shows 
the antiquity of some of the modern symbols, it betrays a still more 
important group of conventionalized figures, the meaning of which may 
always remain in doubt. This is particularly true of the decoration 
on many specimens of the large collection of highly ornamented pottery 
found in the Sikyatki cemeteries. 

If we consider the typical designs on modern Hopi pottery and com 
pare them with the ancient, as illustrated by the collections from 
Awatobi and Sikyatki, it is noted, in the first place, how different they 
are, and secondly, how much better executed the ancient objects are 
than the modern. Nor is it always clear how the modern symbols are 
derived from the ancient, so widely do they depart from them in all 
their essential characters. 


650 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[El'H. AWN. 17 




POTTERY 

Characteristics—Mortuary Pottery 

The pottery exhumed from the burial places of Sikyatki falls in the 
divisions known as— 

i—Coiled and indented ware, 
ii—Smooth undecorated ware. 

hi —Polished decorated ware. 

a. Yellow. 

b. Red. 

c. Black-and-white. 

By far the largest number of ancient pottery objects from this locality 
belong to the yellow-ware group in the above classification. This is the 
characteristic pottery of Tusayau, although coiled and indented ware 
is well represented in the collection. The few pieces of red ware are 
different from that found in the ruins of the Little Colorado, whde the 
black-and-white pottery closely resembles the archaic ware of northern 
cliff houses. Although t be Sikyatki pottery bears resemblance to that 
of Awatobi, it can be distinguished from it without difficulty. The 
paste of both is of the finest character and was most carefully prepared. 
Some of the ancient specimens are much superior to those at present 
made, and are acknowledged by the finest potters of East Mesa to be 
beyond their power of ceramic production. The coloration is generally 
in red, brown, yellow, and black. Decorative treatment by spattering 
is common in the food basins, and this was no doubt performed, Chinese 
fashion, by means of the mouth. The same method is still employed by 
the Ilopi priests in painting their masks. 

The Sikyatki collection of pottery shows little or no duplication in 
decorative design, and every ornamented food basin bears practically 
different symbols. The decoration of the food basins is mainly on 
the interior, but there is almost invariably a geometrical design of 
some kind on the outside, near the rim. The ladles, likewise, are orna¬ 
mented on their interior, and their handles aiso are generally deco¬ 
rated. When the specimens, were removed from the graves their colors, 
as a rule, were apparently as well preserved as at the time of their 
burial; nor, indeed, do they appear to have faded since their deposit in 
the National Museum. 

The best examples of ceramic art from the graves of Sikyatki, in 
texture, finish, and decoration, are, in my judgment, superior to any 
pottery made by ancient or modern Indians north of Mexico. Indeed, 
in these respects the old Tusayan pottery will bear favorable compari¬ 
son even with Central American ware. It is far superior to the rude 
pottery of the eastern pueblos, and is also considerably better than that 
of the great villages of the Gila and Salado. Among the Uopi them¬ 
selves the ceramic art has degenerated, as the few remaining potters 


BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 


Seventeenth annual report pl. cxix 




COILED AND INDENTED POTTERY FROM SIKYATKI 























«■ 










*■ 

























































FEWKES] 


THE POTTERY OF SIKYATKI 


651 


confess. These objects can hardly be looked upon as products of a 
savage people destitute of artistic feeling, but of a race which has devel¬ 
oped in this line of work, through the plane of savagery, to a high stage 
of barbarism. While, as a whole, we can hardly regard the modern Hopi 
as a degenerate people with a more cultured ancestry, certainly the entire 
Pueblo culture in the Southwest, judged by the character of their pot¬ 
tery manufacture, has greatly deteriorated since the middle of the 
sixteenth century. 


Coiled and Indented Ware 

The rudest type of [lottery from Sikyatki has been classed as coiled 
and indented ware. It is coarse in texture, not polished, and usually 
not decorated. Although the outer surface of the pottery of this class 
is rough, the general form of the ware is not less symmetrical than 
that of the finer vessels. The objects belonging to this group are 
mostly jars and moccasin-shape vessels, there being no bowls of this 
type. As<a rule, the vessels are blackened with soot, although some of 
the specimens are light-brown in color. The former variety were 
undoubtedly once used in cooking;.the latter apparently for containing 
water or food. In the accompanying illustration (plate cxix, a) is 
shown one of the best specimens of indented ware, the pits forming an 
equatorial zone about the vessel. All traces of the coil of clay with 
which the jar was built up have beeu obliterated save on the bottom. 
The vessel is symmetrical and the indentations regular, as if made with 
a pointed stone, bone, or stick. 

In another form of coarse pottery (plate cxix, b) the rim merges into 
two ears or rudimentary handles on opposite sides. Traces of the 
original coiling are readily observable on the sides of this vessel. 

Another illustration (plate cxix, c) shows an amphora or jar with 
diametrically opposite handles extending from thi rim to the side ot 
the bowl. The surface of this rude jar is rough and without decora¬ 
tion, but the form is regular and symmetrical. In another amphora 
(plate cxix, d) the opposite handles appear below the neck of the 
vessel; they are broader and apparently more serviceable. 

The jar shown in plate cxix, e, has two ear-like extensions or projec¬ 
tions from the neck of the jar, which are perforated for suspension. 
This vessel is decorated with an incised zigzag line, which surrounds 
it just above its equator. This is a fair example of ornamented rough 
ware. 

Several of the vessels made of coarse clay mixed with sand, the 
grains of which make the surface very rough, are of slipper or moccasin 
shape. These are covered with soot or blackened by fire, indicating 
their former use as cooking pots. By adopting this form the ancients 
were practically enabled to use the principle of the dutch-oven, the 
coals being piled about the vessels containing the food to be cooked 
much more advantageously than in the vase-like forms. 


652 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


The variations in slipper-shape cooking pots are few and simple. The 
blind end is sometimes of globular form, as in the example illustrated in 
plate cxx, a, and sometimes pointed as in figures b and c of the same 
plate. One of the specimens of this type has a handle on the rim and 
another has a flaring lip. Slipper-form vessels are always of coarse 
ware for the obvious reason that, being somewhat more porous, they are 
more readily heated than polished utensils. They are not decorated for 
equally obvious reasons. 

Smooth Undecorated Ware 

There are many specimens of undecorated ware of all shapes and 
sizes, a type of which is shown in plate cxx, d. These include food 
bowls, saucers, ladles, and jars, and were taken from many graves. 
These utensils differ from the coarse ware vessels not only in the char¬ 
acter of the clay from which they are made, but also in their superficial 
polish, which, in some instances, is as fine as that of vessels with 
painted designs. Several very good spoons of half-gourd shape were 
found, and there are many undecorated food bowls and vases. The 
first atteuips at ornamentation appear to have been a simple spattering 
of the surface with liquid pigment or a drawing of simple encircling 
bands. In one instance (plate cxx, d) a blackening of the surface by. 
exposure to smoke was detected, but no superficial gloss, as in the 
Santa Clara ware, was noted. 

Polished Decorated Ware 

By far the greater number of specimens of mortuary pottery from 
Sikyatki are highly polished and decorated with more or less compli¬ 
cated designs. Of these there are at least three different groups, 
based on the color of the ware. Most of the vessels are light yellow or 
of cream color; the next group in point of color is the red ware, the 
few remaining specimens being white with black decorations in geo¬ 
metric patterns. These types naturally fall into divisions consisting of 
vases, jars, bowls, square boxes, cups, ladles, and spoons. 

In the group called vases (plates cxxi, cxxn) many varieties are 
found; some of these are double, with an equatorial constriction; 
others are rounded below, flat above, with an elevated neck and a 
recurved lip. It is noteworthy that these jars or vases are destitute 
of handles, and that their decoration is always confined to the equa¬ 
torial and upper sections about the opening. In the specimens of this 
group which were found at Sikyatki there is no basal rim and uo 
depression on the pole opposite the opening. No decoration is found 
on the interior of the vases, although in several instances the inside 
of the lip bears lines or markings of various kinds. The opening is 
always circular, sometimes small, often large; the neck of a vessel 
is occasionally missing, although the specimens bear evidence of use 
after having been thus broken. In oue or two instances the equato¬ 
rial constrictiou is so deep that the jar is practically double; in other 




BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 


SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. CXX 



SAUCERS AND SLIPPER BOWLS FROM SIKYATKI 














FEWKES] 


THE POTTERY OF SIKYATKI 


653 


cases the constriction is so shallow that it is hardly perceptible (plate 
cxxvi, a , b). The size varies from a simple globular vessel not larger 
than a walnut to a jar of considerable size. Many show marks of 
previous use; others are as fresh as if made but yesterday. 

One of the most fragile of all the globular vessels is a specimen of 
very thin black-and-white ware, perforated near the rim for suspen¬ 
sion (plate cxxxii). This form, although rare at Sikyatki, is repre¬ 
sented by several specimens, and in mode of decoration is very similar 
to the cliff-house pottery. From its scarcity in Tusayan I am inclined 
to believe that this and related specimens were not made of ‘clay 
found in the immediate vicinity of Sikyatki, but that the vessels were 
brought to the ancient pueblo from distant places. As at least some 
ot the cliff' houses were doubtless inhabited contemporaneously with 
and long after the destruction of Sikyatki, I do not hesitate to say that 
the potters of that pueblo were familiar with the cliff dweller type of 
pottery and acquainted with the technic which gave the black and- 
wliiteware its distinctive colors. 

By far the largest number of specimens of smooth decorated pottery 
from Sikyatki graves are food bowls or basins, evidently the dishes in 
which food was placed on the floor before the members of a family at 
their meals. As the mortuary offerings were intended as food for the 
deceased it is quite natural that this form of pottery should far out¬ 
number any and all the others. In no instance do the food bowls exhibit 
marks of smoke blackening, an indication that they had not been used 
in the cooking of food, but merely as receptacles.of the same. 

The beautiful decoration of these vessels speaks highly for the artistic 
taste of the Sikyatki women, and a feast in which they were used must 
have been a delight to the native eye so far as dishes were concerned. 
When filled with food, however, much of the decoration of the bowls 
must have been concealed, a condition avoided in the mode of orna¬ 
mentation adopted by modern Tusayan potters; but there is no doubt 
that when not in use the decoration of the vessels was effectually 
exhibited in their arrangement ou the floor or convenient shelves. 

The forms of these food bowls are hemispherical, gracefully rounded 
below, and always without an attached ring of clay on which to stand 
to prevent rocking. Their rims are seldom flaring, but sometimes have 
a slight constriction, and while the rims of the majority are perfectly 
circular, oblong variations are not wanting. Many of the bowls are 
of saucer shape, with almost vertical sides and fiat bases; several are 
double, with rounded or flat base. 

The surface, inside and out, is polished to a fine gloss, and when 
exteriorly decorated, the design is generally limited to one side just 
below the rim, which is often ornamented with double or triple parallel 
lines, drawn in equidistant, quaternary, and other forms. Most of the 
bowls show signs of former use, either wear ou the inner surface or on 
the base where they rested on the floor in former feasts. 


654 EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 [eth.ann. 17 

These mortuary vessels were discovered generally at one side of the 
chest or neck of the person whose remains they were intended to accom¬ 
pany, and a single specimen was found inverted over the head of the 
deceased. The number of vessels in each grave was not constant, and 
as many as ten were found with one skeleton, while in other graves oniy 
one or two were found. In one instance a nest of six of these basins, one 
inside another, was exhumed. While many of these mortuary offerings 
were broken and others chipped, there were still a large number as per¬ 
fect as when made. Some of the bowls had been mended before burial, 
as holes drilled on each side of a crack clearly indicate. Fragments of 
various vessels, which evidently had been broken before they were 
thrown into the graves, were common. 

There is a general similarity in the artistic decoration of bowls found 
in the same grave, as if they were made by the same potter; and persons 
of distinction, as shown by other mortuary objects, were, as a rule, more 
honored than some of their kindred in the character and number of 
pottery objects deposited with their remains. There were also a 
number of skeletons without ceramic offerings of any kind. 

In one or two interments two or more small jars were found placed 
inside of a food bowl, and in many instances votive offerings, like tur- 
quois, beads, stones, and arrowpoints, had been deposited with the 
dead. The bowls likewise contained, in some instances, prayer-sticks 
and other objects, which will later be described. 

One of the most interesting modifications in the form of the rim of 
one of these food bowls is shown in plate cxx, e, which illustrates a 
variation from the circular shape, forming a kind of handle or support 
for the thumb in lifting the vessel. The utility of this projection in 
handling a bowl of hot food is apparent. This form of vessel is very 
rare, it being the only one of its kind in the collection. 

A considerable number of cups were found at Sikyatki; these vary 
in size and shape from a flat-bottom saucer like specimen to a mug- 
shape variety, always with a single haudle (plate cxxv). Many of 
these resemble small bowls with rounded sides, but there are others in 
which the sides are vertical, and still others the sides of which incline 
at an angle to the flattened base. 

The handles of these cups are generally smooth, and in one instance 
adorned with a figure in relief. The rims of these dippers are never 
flaring, either inward or outward. As a rule they are decorated on the 
exterior; indeed there is only one instance of interior decoration. The 
handles of the dippers are generally attached at both ends, but some¬ 
times the handle is free at the end near the body of the utensil and 
attached at the tip. These handles are usually flat, but sometimes 
they are round, aud often are decorated. Traces of imitations of the 
braiding of two coils of clay are seen in a single specimen . 1 

'The excavations at Homolobi in 1896 revealed two beautiful cups with braided handles and one 
where the clay strands are twisted. 






BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 


SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. CXXI 



DECORATED POTTERY FROM SIKYATKI 









BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 


SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. CXXII 



DECORATED POTTERY FROM SIKYATKI 


















FEWKES] 


DIPPERS, SPOONS, AND LADLES 


655 


Small and large ladles, with long handles, occurred in large numbers 
in Sikyatki graves, but there was little variation among them except in 
the forms of their handles. Many of these utensils were much woru by 
use, especially on the rim opposite the attachment of the handle, and 
in some specimens the handle itself had evidently been broken and 
the end rounded oft' by rubbing long before it was placed in the grave. 
From the comparatively solid character of the bowls of these dippers 
they were rarely fractured, and were commonly found to contain smaller 
mortuary objects, such as paint, arrowheads, or polishing stones. 

The ladles, unlike most of the cups, are generally decorated on the 
interior as well as on the exterior. Their handles vary in size and shape, 
are usually hollow, and sometimes are perforated at the end. In cer¬ 
tain specimens the extremity is prolonged into a pointed, recurved tip, 
and sometimes is coiled in a spiral. A groove in the upper surface of 
one example is an unusual variation, and a right-angle bend of the tip 
is a unique feature of another specimen. The Sikyatki potters, like 
their modern descendants , 1 sometimes ornamented the tip of a single 
handle with the head of an animal and painted the upper surface of 
the shaft with alternate parallel bars, zigzags, terraces, and frets. 

Several spoons or scoops of earthenware, which evidently had been 
used in much the same way as similar objects in the modern pueblos, 
were found. Some of these have the shape of a half gourd—a natural 
object which no doubt furnished the pattern. These spoons, as a rule, 
were not decorated, but on a single specimen bars and parallel lines 
may be detected. In the innovations of modern times pewter spoons 
serve the same purpose, and their form is sometimes imitated in earthen¬ 
ware. More often, in modern and probably also in ancient usage, a roll 
of paper-bread or piki served the same purpose, being dipped into the 
stew and then eaten with the lingers. Possibly the Sikyatkian drank 
from the hollow handle of a gourd ladle, as is frequently done in Walpi 
today, but he generally slaked his thirst by means of a clay substitute . 2 

Several box-like articles of pottery of both cream and red ware were 
found in ‘the Sikyatki graves, some of them having handles, others 
being without them (plate cxxv). They are ornamented on the exte¬ 
rior and on the rim, and the handle, when not lacking, is attached to the 
longer side of the rectangular vessel. Not a single bowl was found 
with a terraced rim, a feature so common in the medicine bowls of 
Tusayan at the present time ’ 1 


■The modern potters commonly adorn the ends of ladle handles with heads of different mythologic 
beings in their pantheon. The knob-head priest-clowns are favorite personages to represent, although 
even the Corn-maid and different katcinas are also sometimes chosen for this purpose. The heads of 
various animals are likewise frequently found, some in artistic positions, others less so. 

*The clay ladles with perforated handles with which the modern Hopi sometimes drink are 
believed to he of late origin in Tusayan. 

5The oldest medieine bowls now in use ordinarily have handles and a terraced rim, but there are one 
or two important exceptions. In this connection it may he mentioned that, unlike the Zuni, the Hopi 
never use a clay bowl with a basket-like handle for sacred meal, but always carry the meal in basket 
trays. This the priests claim is a very old practice, and so far as my observations go is confirmed 
by archeological evidence. The bowl with a basket-form handle is not found either in ancient or 
modern Tusayan. 




656 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


In addition to the various forms of pottery which have been men¬ 
tioned, there are also pieces made in the form of birds, one of the most 
typical of which is figured in plate cxn, c. In these objects the 
wings are represented by elevations in the form of ridges on the sides, 
and the tail and head by prolongations, which unfortunately were 
broken off. 

Toys or miniature reproductions of all the above-mentioned ceramic 
specimens occurred in several graves. These are often very roughly 
made, and in some cases contained pigments of different colors. The 
finding of a few fragments of clay in the form of animal heads, and one 
or two rude images of quadrupeds, would seem to indicate that some¬ 
times such objects were likewise deposited with the dead. A clay 
object resembling the flaring end of a flageolet and ornamented with a 
zigzag decoration is unique in the collections from Sikyatki, although 
in the western cemetery there was found a fragment of an earthenware 
tube, possibly a part of a flute. 

In order to show more clearly the association of mortuary objects in 
single graves a few examples of the grouping of these deposits will be 
given. 

In a grave in the western cemetery the following specimens were 
found: 1, ladle; 2, paint grinder; 3, paint slab; 4, arrowpoints; 5, 
fragments of a marine shell (Pectunculus ); G, pipe, with fragments of a 
second pipe, and 7, red paint (sesquioxide of iron). 

In the grave which contained the square medicine bowl shown in 
plate cxxviii, a, a ladle containing food was also unearthed. 

The bowl decorated with a picture of a girl’s head was associated 
with fragments of another bowl and four ladles. 

Another single grave contained four large and small cooking pots 
and a broken metate. 

In a grave 8 feet below the surface in the western cemetery we 
found : 1, decorated food vessel; 2, black shoe-shape cooking pot rest¬ 
ing in a food bowl and containing a small rude ladle; 3, coarse 
undecorated basin. 

A typical assemblage of mortuary objects comprised: 1, small deco¬ 
rated bowl containing polishing stones; 2, miniature cooking pot black¬ 
ened by soot; 3, two small food bowls. 

In modern Hopi burials the food bowls with the food for the dead 
are not buried with the deceased, but are placed on the mound of soil 
and stones which covers the remains. From the position of the mortu¬ 
ary pottery as regards the skeletons in the Sikyatki interments, it is 
probable that this custom is of modern origin. Whether in former 
times food bowls were placed on the burial mounds as well as in the 
grave I am not able to say. The number of food bowls in ancient 
graves exceeds those placed on modern burials. 

The Sikyatki dead were apparently wrapped in coarse fabrics, 
possibly matting. 










BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. CXXIII 



t 


DECORATED POTTERY FROM SIKYATKI 








FEWKES] 


SYMBOLISM OF CERAMIC DECORATIONS 


657 


PALEOGRAPHY OF THE POTTERY 
General Features 

The pottery from Sikyatki is especially rich in picture writing, and 
imperfect as these designs are as a means of transmitting a knowledge 
of manners, customs, and religious conceptions, they can be interpreted 
with good results. 

One of the most important lessons drawn from the pottery is to be 
had from a study of the symbols used in its decoration, as indicative 
of current beliefs and practices when it was made. The ancient inhabi¬ 
tants of Sikyatki have left no written records, for, unlike the more 
cultured people of Central America, they had no codices; but they 
have left on their old mortuary pottery a large body of picture writings 
or paleography which reveals many instructive phases of their former 
culture. The decipherment of these symbols is in part made possible 
by the aid of a knowledge of modern survivals, and when interpreted 
rightly they open a view of ancient Tusayan myths, and in some cases 
of prehistoric practices. 1 

Students of Pueblo mythology and ritual are accumulating a con¬ 
siderable body of literature bearing on modern beliefs and practices. 
This is believed to be the right method of determining their aboriginal 
status, and is therefore necessary as a basis of our knowledge of their 
customs and beliefs. It is reasonable to suppose that what is now 
practiced in Pueblo ritual contains more or less of what has survived 
from prehistoric times, but from Taos to Tusayan there is no pueblo 
which does not show modifications in mythology and ritual due to 
European contact. Modern Pueblo life resembles the ancient, but is 
not a facsimile of it, and until we have rightly measured the effects of 
incorporated elements, we are more or less inexact in our estimation 
of the character of prehistoric culture. The vein of similarity in the 
old and the new can be used in an interpretation of ancient paleo¬ 
graphy, but we overstep natural limitations if by so doing we ascribe 
to prehistoric culture every concept which we find current among (he 
modern survivors. To show how much the paleography of Tusayan 
has changed since Sikyatki was destroyed, I need only say that most 
of the characteristic figures of deities which are used today in the 
decoration of pottery are not found on the Sikyatki ware. Perhaps 
the most common figures on modern food bowls is the head of a mytlio- 
logic being, the Corn maid, Calako-mana , but this picture, or any which 
resembles it, is not found on the bowls from Sikyatki. A knowledge 
of the cult of the Corn-maid possibly came into Tusayan, through 
foreign influences, after the fall of Sikyatki, and there is no doubt that 

'Symbolism rather than realism was the controlling element of archaic decoration. Thus, while 
objects of beauty, like flowers and leaves, were rarely depicted, and human forms are most absurd 
caricatures, most careful attention was given to minute details of symbolism, or idealized animals 
unknown to the naturalist. 

17 ETH, FT 2-13 











658 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 



the picture decoration of modern Tusayan pottery, made within a league 
of Sikyatki, is so different from the ancient that it indicates a modifica¬ 
tion of the culture of the Hopi in historic times, and implies how 
deceptive it may be to present modern beliefs and practices as fac¬ 
similes of ancient culture. 

The main subjects chosen by the native women for the decoration of 
their pottery are symbolic, and the most abundant objects which bear 
these decorations are food bowls and water vases. Many mythic con¬ 
cepts are depicted, among which may be mentioned the Plumed Snake, 
various birds, reptiles, frogs, tadpoles, and insects. Plants or leaves 
are seldom employed as decorative motives, but the flower is some¬ 
times used. The feather was perhaps the most common object utilized, 
and it may likewise be said the most highly conventionalized. 

An examination of the decorations of modern food basins used in the 
villages of East Mesa shows that the mythologie personages most com¬ 
monly chosen for the ornamentation of tlieir interiors are the Corn or 
Germ goddesses. 1 These assume a number of forms, yet all are reduci¬ 
ble to one type, although known by very different names, as Hewiiqti, 
“Old Woman,” Kokle, and the like. 

Figures of reptiles, birds, the antelope, and like animals do not occur 
on any of the food bowls from the large collection of modern Tusayan 
pottery which I have studied, and as these figures are well represented 
in the decorations on Sikyatki food bowls, we may suppose their use 
has been abandoned or replaced by figures of the Corn-maids. 2 This 
fact, like so many others drawn from a study of the Tusayan ritual, indi¬ 
cates that the cult of the Corn-maids is more vigorous today than it 
was when Sikyatki was in its prime. 

Many pictures of masks on modern Tusayan bowls are identified as 
Tacdb or Navaho katcinas. 3 Their symbolism is well characterized by 
chevrons on the cheeks or curved markings for eyes. None of these 
figures, however, have yet been found on ancient Tusayan ceramics. 
Taken in connection with facts adduced by Hodge indicative of a recent 
advent of this vigorous Athapascan tribe into Tusayan, it would seem 
that the use of the Tacab katcina pictures was of recent date, and is 
therefore not to be expected on the prehistoric pottery of the age of that 
found in Sikyatki. 

■Certainly no more appropriate design could be chosen for the decoration of the inside of a food 
vessel than the head of the Corn maid, and from our ideas of taste none less so than that of a lizard 
or bird. The freshness and absence of wear of many of the specimens of Sikyatki mortuary pottery 
raises the question whether they were ever in domestic use. Many evidently were thus employed, as 
the evidences of wear plainly indicate, but possibly some of the vessels were made for mortuary 
purposes, either at the time of the decease of a relative or at an earlier period. 

! The figure shown in plate cxxix, a, was probably intended to represent the Corn-maid, or an 
Earth goddess of the Sikyatki pantheon. Although it differs widely in drawing from figures of 
Calako-mana on modern howls, it hoars a startling resemblance to the figure of the Germ goddess 
which appears on certain Tusayan altars. 

J Hopi legends recount how certain clans, especially those of Tanoan origin, lived in Tsfigi canyon 
and intermarried with the Xavaho so extensively that it is said they temporarily forgot their own 
language. From this source may have sprung the numerous so-called Xavaho katcinas, and the 
reciprocal influence on the Xavaho cults was even greater. 









FEWKES] 


ANCIENT AND MODERN POTTERY COMPARED 


659 


In the decoration of ancient pottery I find no trace of figures of 
the clown-priests, or tcukuwympkiya, who are so prominent in modern 
Tnsayan katcina celebrations. These personages, especially the Tat- 
cukti, often called by a corruption of the Zufii name Koyimse (Koyo- 
rniishi), are very common on modern bowls, especially at the extremi¬ 
ties of ladles or smaller objects of pottery. 

Many handles of ladles made at Hano in late times are modeled in 
. the form of the Paiakyamu, 1 a glutton priesthood peculiar to that 
Tanoan pueblo. From the data at hand we may legitimately conclude 
that the conception of the clown-priest is modern in Tusayan, so far as 
the ornamentation of pottery is concerned. 

The large collections of so-called modern Hopi pottery in our museums 
is modified Tanoan ware, made in Tnsayan. Most of the component 
specimens were made by Hano potters, who painted upon them figures 
of katcinas, a cult which they and their kindred introduced. 

Several of the food bowls had evidently cracked during their firing 
or while in use, and had been mended before they were buried in the 
graves. This repairing was accomplished either by filling the crack 
with gum or by boring a hole on each side of the fracture for tying. 
In one specimen of black-and-white ware a perfectly round hole was 
made in the bottom, as if purposely to destroy the usefulness of the 
bowl before burial. This hole had been covered inside with a rounded 
disk of old pottery, neatly ground on the edge. It was not observed 
that any considerable number of mortuary pottery objects were 
“killed” before burial, although a large number were chipped on the 
edges. It is a great wonder that any of these fragile objects were 
found entire, the stones and soil covering the corpse evidently having 
been thrown into the grave without regard to care. 

The majority of the ancient symbols are incomprehensible to the 
present Hopi priests whom I have been able to consult, although they 
are ready to suggest many interpretations, sometimes widely divergent. 
The only reasonable method that can be pursued in determining the 
meaning of the conventional signs with which the modern Tusayan 
Indians are unfamiliar seems, therefore, to be a comparative one. This 
method I have attempted to follow so far as possible. 

There is a closer similarity between the symbolism of the Sikyatki 
pottery and that of the Awatobi ware than there is between the 
ceramics of either of these two pueblos and that of Walpi, and the 
same likewise may be said of the other Tusayan ruins so far as known. 
It is desirable, however, that excavations be made at the site of Old 
Walpi in order to determine, if possible, how widely different the 
ceramics of that village are from the towns whose ruins were studied 
in 1895. There are certain practical difficulties in regard to work at 
Old Walpi, one of the greatest of which is its proximity to modern 

1 These priests wear a close-fitting skullcap, with two long, banded horns made of leather, to the end 
of which corn husks are tied. For an extended description see Journal of American Ethnology and 
Archceology, vol. it, No. 1, page 11. 




660 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


burial places and shrines still used. Moreover, it is probable—indeed, 
quite certain—that most of the portable objects were carried from the 
abandoned pueblo to the present village when the latter was founded; 
but the old cemeteries of Walpi contain many ancient mortuary bowls 
which, when exhumed, will doubtless contribute a most interesting 
chapter to the history of modern Tusayan decorative art. 

One of the largest, and, so far as form goes, one of the most unique 
vessels, is shown in plate cxxvi, b. This was not exhumed from 
Sikyatki, but was said to have been found in the vicinity of that ruin. 
While the ware is very old, I do not believe it is ancient, and it is intro¬ 
duced in order to show how cleverly ancient patterns maybe simulated 
by more modern potters. The sole way in which modern imitations of 
ancient vessels may be distinguished is by the peculiar crackled or crazed 
surface which the former always has. This is due, I believe, to the method 
of firing and the unequal contraction or expansion of the slip employed. 
All modeni imitations are covered with a white slip which, after firing, 
becomes crackled, a characteristic unknown to ancient ware. The most 
expert modern potter at East Mesa is Nampeo, a Tauoan woman who 
is a thorough artist in her line of work. Finding a better market for 
ancient than for modern ware, she cleverly copies old decorations, and 
imitates the Sikyatki ware almost perfectly. She knows where the 
Sikyatki potters obtained their clay, and uses it in her work. Almost 
any Hopi who has a bowl to sell will say that it is ancient, and care 
must always be exercised in accepting such claims. 

An examination of the ornamentation of the jar above referred to 
shows a series of birds drawn in the fashion common to early pottery 
decoration. This has led me to place this large vessel among the old 
ware, although the character of the pottery is different from that of 
the best examples found at Sikyatki. I believe this vessel was exhumed 
from a ruiu of more modern date than Sikyatki. The woman who sold 
it to me has farming interests near Awatobi, which leads me to conjec¬ 
ture that she or possibly one of her ancestors found it at or near that 
ruin. She admitted that it had been in the possession of her family 
for some time, but that the story she had heard concerning it attributed 
its origin to Sikyatki. 

Human Figures 

Yery few figures of men or women are found on the pottery, and 
these are confined to the interior of food basins (plate cxxix). 1 They 
ar e ordinarily very roughly drawn, apparently with less care and with 
much less detail than are the figures of animals. From their character 
I am led to the belief that the drawing of human figures on pottery 
was a late development in Tusayan art, and postdates the use of 
animal figures on their earthenware. There are, however, a few decora- 

1 The rarity of human figures on such kinds of pottery as are found in the oldest ruins would appear 
to indicate that decorations of this kind were a late development. No specimen of black-and-white 
ware on which pictures of human beings are present has yet been figured. The sequence of evolution 
in designs is believed to be (1) geometrical figures, (2) birds, (3) other animals, (4) human beings. 




BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 


SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. CXXIV 




M.W.H. 


DECORATED POTTERY FROM SIKYATKI 
















FEWKES] 


HOPI METHOD OF HAIR DRESSING 


661 


tions in which human figures appear, and these afford an interesting 
although meager contribution to our knowledge of ancient Tusayan art 
and custom. 

As is well known, the Hopi maidens wear their hair in two whorls, 
one over each ear, and that on their marriage it is tied in two coils 
falling on the breast. The whorl is arranged on a U-shape stick called 
a giiela; it is commonly done up by a sister, the mother, or some 
friend of the maiden, and is stiffened with an oil pressed from squash 
seeds. The curved stick is then withdrawn and the two puffs held in 
place by a string tightly wound between them and the head. The 
habit of dressing the hair in whorls is adopted after certain puberty 
ceremonials, which have elsewhere been described. When on betrothal 
a Ilopi maid takes her gifts of finely ground cornmeal to the house of 
her future mother-in-law, her hair is dressed in this fashion for the last 
time, because on her return she is attacked by the women of the pueblo, 
drawn hither and thither, her hair torn down, and her body smeared 
with dirt. If her gifts are accepted she immediately becomes the wife 
of her lover, and her hair is thenceforth dressed in the fashion common 
to matrons. 

The symbolic meaning of the whorls of hair worn by the maidens is 
said to be the squash-flower, or, perhaps more accurately speaking, the 
potential power of fructification. There is legendary and other evidence 
that this custom is very ancient among the Tusayan Indians, and the 
data obtainable from their ritual point the same way. In the personi¬ 
fication of ancestral u breath-bodies,” or spirits by men, called Tcatcinas, 
the female performers are termed katcina-manas (katcina virgins), and 
it is their custom to wear the hair in the characteristic coiffure of 
maidens. In the personification of the Corn-maid by symbolic figures, 
such as graven images , 1 pictures, and the like, in secret rites, the style 
of coiffure worn by the maidens is common, as I have elsewhere shown 
in the descriptions of the ceremonials known as the Flute, Lalakonti , 
Mamzrauti, Paliilukonti , and others. The same symbol is found in 
images used as dolls of Calako-mana, the equivalent, as the others, of 
the same Corn-maid. From the nature of these images there can 
hardly be a doubt of the great antiquity of this practice, and that it 
has been brought down, through their ritual, to the present day. This 
style of hair dressing was mentioned by the early Spanish explorers, 
and is represented in pictographs of ancient date; but if all these evi¬ 
dences of its antiquity are insufficient the testimony afforded by the 
pictures on certain food-basins from Sikyatki leaves no doubt on this 
point . 2 


1 In some of the figurines used in connection with modern Hopi altars these whorls are represented 
by small wheels made of sticks radiating from a common juncture and connected by woolen yarn. 

’The natives of Cibola, according to Castaneda, ‘ ‘ gather their hair over the two ears, making a frame 
which looks like an old-fashioned headdress.” The Tusayan Pueblo maidens are the only Indians 
who now dress their hair in this way, although the custom is still kept up by men in certain sacred 
dances at Zufii. The country women in Salamanca, Spain, do their hair up in two flat coils, one on 
each side of the forehead, a custom which Castaneda may have had in mind when he compared the 
Pueblo coiffure to an “ old-fashioned headdress.” 



662 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


Plate cxxix, 6, represents a food-basin, on the inside of which is 
drawn, in brown, the head and shoulders of a woman. On either side 
the hair is done up in coils which bear some likeness to the whorls 
worn by the present Hopi maidens. It must be borne in mind, how¬ 
ever, that similar coils are sometimes made after ceremonial head- 
washing, and certain other rites, when the hair is tied with corn husks. 
The face is painted reddish, and the ears have square pendants similar 
to the turquois mosaics worn by Hopi women at the present day. 
Although there is other evidence than this of the use of square ear- 
pendants, set with mosaic, among the ancient people—and traditions 
point the same way—this figure of the head of a woman from Sikyatki 
leaves no doubt of the existence of this form of ornament in that 
ancient pueblo. 

However indecisive the last-mentioned picture may be in regard to 
the coiffure of the ancient Sikyatki women, plate cxxix, a, affords 
still more conclusive evidence. This picture represents a womau of 
remarkable form which, from likenesses to figures at present made in 
sand on an altar in the Lalakonti ceremony, 1 I have no hesitation in 
ascribing to the Corn-maid. The head has the two whorls of hair very 
similar to those made in that rite on the picture of the Goddess of 
Germs, aud the square body is likewise paralleled iu the same figure. 
The peculiar form is employed to represent the outstretched blanket, a 
style of art which is common in Mayan codices. 2 On each lower cor¬ 
ner representations of feathered strings, called iu the modern ritual 
naktcakwoci, 3 are appended. The figure is represented as kneeling, 
and the four parallel lines are possibly comparable with the prayer- 
sticks placed in the belt of the Germ goddess on the Lalakonti altar. 
In her left hand (which, among the Hopi, is the ceremonial hand or 
that in which sacred objects are always carried) she holds an ear of 
corn, symbolic of germs, of which she is the deity. The many coinci¬ 
dences between this figure and that used iu the ceremonials of the 
September moon, called Lalakonti , would seem to show that in both 
instances it was intended to represent the same mythic being. 

There is, however, another aspect of this question which is of inter¬ 
est. In modern times there is a survival among the Hopi of the cus¬ 
tom of decorating the inside of a food basin with a figure of the 
Corn-maid, and this is, therefore, a direct inheritance of ancient meth¬ 
ods represented by the specimen under consideration. A large majority 
of modern food bowls are ornamented with an elaborate figure of Calako- 
mana, the Corn-maid, very elaborately worked out, but still retaining 
the essential symbolism figured in the Sikyatki bowl. 4 


'American Anthropologist , April, 1?92. 

! Troano and Cortesiano codices. 

3 A nakwdktooci is an individual prayer-string, and consists of one or more prescribed feathers tied 
to a cotton string. These prayer emblems are made in great numbers in every Tusayan ceremony. 

4 The evidence afforded by this bowl would seem to show that the cult of the Corn-maid was a part 
of the mythology and ritual of Sikyatki. The elaborate figures of the rain cloud, which are so prom¬ 
inent in representations of the Corn-maid on modern plaques, bowls, and dolls, are not found in the 
Sikyatki picture. 







BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 


SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. CXXV 



M.W.H. 


FLAT DIPPERS AND MEDICINE BOX FROM SIKYATKI 










FEWKES] 


ANCIENT HOPI HAIR DRESSING 


663 


While one of the two figures shown in plate cxxix, e, is valuable as 
affording additional and corroborative evidence of the character of the 
ancient coiffure of the women, its main interest is of a somewhat dif¬ 
ferent kind. Two figures are rudely drawn on the inside of the basin, 
one of which represents a woman, the other, judging from the character 
of the posterior extremity of the body, a reptilian conception in which a 
single foreleg is depicted, and the tail is articulated at the end, recalling 
a rattlesuake. Upon the head is a single feather; 1 the two eyes are 
represented on one side of the head, and the line of the alimentary tract 
is roughly drawn. The figure is represented as standing before that of 
the woman. 

With these few lines the potter no doubt intended to depict one of 
those many legends, still current, of the cultus hero and heroine of her 
particular family or priesthood. Supposing the reptilian figure to be a 
totemic one, our minds naturally recall the legend of the Snake-hero 
and the Corn-mist-maid 2 whom he brought from a mythic land to dwell 
with his people. 

The peculiar hairdress is likewise represented in the figures on the 
food basin illustrated in plate cxxix, c, which represent a man and 
a woman Although the figures are partly obliterated, it can easily be 
deciphered that the latter figure wears a garment similar to the kwaca 
or dark-blue blanket for which Tusayan is still famous, and that this 
blanket was bound by a girdle, the ends of which hang from the 
woman’s left hip. While the figure of the man is likewise indistinct 
(the vessel evidently having been long in use), the nature of the act in 
which he is engaged is not left in doubt. 3 

Among the numerous deities of the modern Hopi Olympus there is 
one called Kokopeli, 4 often represented in wooden dolls and clay 
images. From the obscurity of the symbolism, these dolls are never 
figured in works on Tusayan images. The figure in plate cxxix, d, 
bears a resemblance to Kokopeli. It represents a man with arms raised 
in the act of dancing, and the head is destitute of hair as if covered 
by one of the peculiar helmets used by the clowns in modern ceremo¬ 
nials. As many of the acts of these priests may be regarded as 
obscene from our point of view, it is not improbable that this figure 
may represent an ancient member of this archaic priesthood. 

'The reason for my belief that this is a breath feather will be shown under the discussion of feather 
and bird pictures. 

2 For the outline of this legend see Jotirnal of American Ethnology and Archaeology , vol. iv. The maid 
is there called the Tciia-mana or Snake-maid, a sacerdotal society name for the Germ goddess. The 
same personage is alluded to under many different names, depending on the society, but they are all 
believed to refer to the same mythic concept. 

a The attitude of the male and female here depicted was not regarded as obscene; on the contrary, 
to the ancient Sikyatki mind the picture had a deep religious meaning. In Hopi ideas the male is a 
symbol of active generative power, the female of passive reproduction, and representations of these 
two form essential elements of the ancient pictorial and graven art of that people. 

4 The doll of Kokopeli has a long, bird-like beak, generally a rosette on the side of the head, a hump 
on the back, and an enormous penis. It is a phallic deity, and appears in certain ceremonials which 
need not here be described. During the excavations at Sikyatki one of the Indians called my atten¬ 
tion to a large Dipteran insect which lie called “ Kokopeli.” 



664 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


The three human figures on the food basin illustrated in plate 
cxxix, /, are highly instructive as showing the antiquity of a curious 
and revolting practice almost extinct in Tusayan. 

As an accompaniment of certain religious ceremonials among the 
Pueblo and the Havaho Indians, it was customary for certain priests 
to insert sticks into the esophagus. These sticks are still used to some 
extent and may be obtained by the collector. The ceremony of stick- 
swallowing has led to serious results, so that now in the decline of this 
cult a deceptive method is often adopted. 

In Tusayan the stick-swallowing ceremony has been practically 
abandoned at the East Mesa, but I have been informed by reliable per¬ 
sons that it has not wholly been given up at Oraibi. The illustration 
above referred to indicates its former existence in Sikyatki. The mid¬ 
dle figure represents the stick-swallower forcing the stick down his 
esophagus, while a second figure holds before him an unknown object. 
The principal performer is held by a third figure, an attendant, who 
stands behind him. This instructive pietograph thus illustrates the 
antiquity of this custom in Tusayan, and would seem to indicate that it 
was once a part of the Pueblo ritual. 1 It is possible that the Navaho, 
who have a similar practice, derived it from the Pueblos, but there are 
not enough data at hand to demonstrate this beyond question. 

^Regarding the pose of the three figures in this picture, I have been 
reminded by Dr Walter Hough of the performers who carry the wad 
of cornstalks in the Antelope dance. In this interpretation we have 
the “carrier,” “hugger,” and possibly an Antelope priest with the 
unknown object in his hand. This interpretation appears more likely 
to be a correct one than that which I have suggested; and yet Kopeli, 
the Snake chief, declares that the Snake family was not represented at 
Sikyatki. Possibly a dance similar to the Antelope performance on the 
eighth day of the Snake dance may have been celebrated at that pueblo, 
and the discovery of a rattlesnake’s rattle in a Sikyatki grave is yet to 
be explained. 

One of the most prominent of all the deities in the modern Tusayan 
Olympus is the cultus-hero called Punkonhoya, the Little War God. 
Hopi mythology teems with legends of this god and his deeds in kill¬ 
ing monsters and aiding the people in many ways. He is reputed to 
have been one of twins, children of the Sun and a maid by partheuo- 
genetic conception. His adventures are told with many variants and 
he reappears with many aliases. 

The symbolism of PiUikoiihoya at the present day consists of par¬ 
allel marks on the face or body, and when personated by a man the figure 

'The practice still exists at Zufii, I am told, and there is no sign of its becoming extinct. It is said 
that old Naiutci, the chief of the Priesthood of the Bow, was permanently injured during one of 
these performances. (Since the above lines were written I have excavated from one of the ruins on 
the Little Colorado a specimen of one of these objects used by ancient stick-swallowers. It is made 
of bone, and its use was explained to me by a reliable informant familiar with the practices of Oraibi 
and other villagers. It is my intention to figure and describe this ancient objeot in the account of the 
explorations of 1896.) 



BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 


SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. CXXVl 




M.W.H. 


DOUBLE-LOBE VASES FROM SIKYATKI 














FEWKES] 


MYTHIC PERSONAGES ON POTTERY 


665 


is always represented as carrying weapons of war, sncli as a bow and 
arrows. Images of the same hero are used in ceremonies, and are 
sometimes found as household gods or penates, which are fed as if 
human beings. A fragment of pottery represented in the accompany¬ 
ing illustration (figure 2G3), shows enough of the head of a personage 
to indicate that Piiiikoiihoya was intended, for it bears on the cheek 
the two parallel marks symbolic of that deity, while in his hands he 
holds a bow and a jointed arrow as if shooting an unknown animal. 
All of these features are in harmony with the identification of the 
figure with that of the cultus hero mentioned, and seem to indicate the 
truth of the current legend that as a mythologic conception he is of 
great antiquity in Tusayan. 

In this connection it may be instructive to call attention to two fig¬ 
ures on a food bowl collected by Mr n. It. Yoth from a ruin near Oraibi. 
It represents a man and a woman, the former with two horns, a crescent 
on the forehead, and holding in 
his outstretched hand a staff. 

The woman has a curious gorget, 
similar to some which I have 
found in ruins near Tusayan, 
and a belt like those still worn 
by Pueblo Indians. This smaller 
figure likewise has a crescent 
on its face and three strange 
appendages on each side of the 
head. 

Another food basin in Mr 
Voth’s collection is also in¬ 
structive, and is different in its 
decoration from any which I 
have found. The character of 
the ware is ancient, but the figure is decidedly modern. If, however, 
it should prove to be an ancient vessel it would carry back to the time 
of its manufacture the existence of the katcina cult in Tusayan, no 
actual proof of the existence of which, at a time when Sikyatki was in 
its prime, has yet been discovered. 

The three figures represent Hahaiwiiqti, Hewiiqti, and Natacka 
exactly as these supernatural beings are now personated at Walpi in 
the Poicamu, as described and figured in a former memoir. 1 

It is unfortunate that the antiquity of this specimen, suggestive as 
it is, must be regarded as doubtful, for it was not exhumed from the 
ruin by an archeologist, and the exact locality in which it was found 
is not known. 

1 “ Tusayan Katcinas,” Fifteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology, 1893-94, Washington, 
1897. Hewiiqti is also called Soyokmana, a Keresan Hopl name meaning the Xatacka-maid. The 
Keresan (Sia) Skoyo are cannibal giants, according to Mrs Stevenson, an admirable definition of the 
Hopi Natackas. 



Fig. ?63—War god shooting an animal. (Fragment 
of food bowl) 




666 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[eth. asn. 17 


The Human Hand 

Excepting the figure of the maid’s head above described, the human 
hand, for some unknown reason, is the only part of the body chosen by 
the ancient Hopi for representation in the decoration of their pottery. 
Among the present Tusayan Indians the human hand is rarely used, 
but oftentimes the beams of the kivas are marked by the girls who have 
plastered them with impressions of their muddy hands, and there is a 
latcina mask which has a hand painted in white on the face. As in 
the case of the decoration of all similar sacred paraphernalia, there is 
a legend which accounts for the origin of the latcina with the imprint 
of the hand on its mask. The following tale, collected by the late 
A. M. Stephen, from whose manuscript I quote, is interesting in this 
connection: 

“The figure of a hand with extended fingers is very common, in the 
vicinity of ruins, as a rock etching, and is also frequently seen 
daubed on the rocks with colored pigments or white clay. These are 
vestiges of a test formerly practiced by the young men who aspired for 
admission to the fraternity of the Calako. The Calako is a trinity of 
two women and a man from whom the Hopi obtained the first corn, and 
of whom the following legend is told: 

“ In the early days, before houses were built, the earth was devastated 
by a whirlwind. There was then neither springs nor streams, although 
water was so near the surface that it could be found by pulling up 
a tuft of grass. The people had but little food, however, and they 
besought Masauwuh to help them, but he could not. 

“There came a little old man, a dwarf, who said that he had two 
sisters who were the wives of Calako, and it might be well to petition 
them. So they prepared an altar, every man making a paho, and these 
were set in the ground so as to encircle a sand hillock, for this occurred 
before houses were known. 

“Masauwuh’s brother came and told them that when Calako came to 
the earth’s surface wherever he placed his foot a deep chasm was made; 
then they brought to the altar a huge rock, on which Calako might 
stand, and they set it between the two pahos placed for his wives. 

“Then the people got their rattles and stood around the altar, each 
man in front of his own paho; but they stood in silence, for they knew 
no song with which to invoke this strange god. They stood there for a 
long while, for they were afraid to begiu the ceremonies until a young 
lad, selecting the largest rattle, began to shake it and sing. Presently 
a sound like rushing water was heard, but no water was seen; a sound 
also like great winds, but the air was perfectly still, and it was seen 
that the rock was pierced with a great hole through the center. The 
people were frightened and ran away, all save the young lad who had 
sung the invocation. 

“The lad soon afterward rejoined them, and they saw that his back 
was cut and bleeding and covered with splinters of yucca and willow. 


BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 


SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. CXXVII 




d Va 


m.w.h. 


UNUSUAL FORMS OF VASES FROM SIKYATK! 











FEWKES] 


THE CALAKO MYTH 


667 


The flagellation, lie told them, had been administered by Calako, who 
told him that he must endure this laceration before he could look upon 
the beings he had invoked; that only to those who passed through his 
ordeals could Calako become visible; and, as the lad had braved the 
test so well, he should thenceforth be chief of the Calako altar. The 
lad could not describe Calako, but said that his two wives were exceed¬ 
ingly beautiful and arrayed with all manner of tine garments. They 
wore great headdresses of clouds and every kind of corn which they 
were to give to the Hopi to plant for food. There were white, red, yel¬ 
low, blue, black, blue-and-white speckled, and red-and-yellow speckled 
corn, and a seeded grass ( Tiwapi ). 

“ The lad returned to the altar and shook his rattle over the hole in 
the rock, and from its interior Calako conversed with him and gave him 
instructions. In accordance with these he gathered all the Hopi youths 
and brought them to the rock, that Calako might select certain of them 
to be his priests. The first test was that of putting their hands in the 
mud and impressing them upon the rock. Only those were chosen as 
novices the imprints of whose hands had dried on the instant. 

“The selected youths then moved within the altar aud underwent 
the test of flagellation. Calako lashed them with yucca and willow. 
Those who made no outcry were told to remain in the altar, to abstain 
from salt and flesh for ten days, when Calako would return and instruct 
them concerning the rites to be i>erformed when they sought his aid. 

“Calako and his two wives appeared at the appointed time, and after 
many ceremonials gave to each of the initiated five grains of each of the 
different kinds of corn. The Hopi women had been instructed to place 
baskets woven of grass at the foot of the rock, and in these Calako’s 
wives placed the seeds of squashes, melons, beans, and all the other 
vegetables which the Hopi have since possessed. 

“Calako and his wives, after announcing that they would again 
return, took off their masks aud garments, and laying them on the rock 
disappeared within it. 

“ Some time after this, when the initiated were assembled in the altar, 
the Great Plumed Snake appeared to them and said that Calako could 
not return unless one of them was brave enough to take the mask and 
garments down into the hole and give them to him. They were all 
afraid, but the oldest man of the Hopi took them down and was deputed 
to return aud represent Calako. 

“Shortly afterward Masauwuh stole the paraphernalia, and with his 
two brothers masqueraded as Calako and his wives. This led the Hopi 
into great trouble, and they incurred the wrath of Muiyinwuh, who 
withered all their grain aud corn. 

“One of the Hopi finally discovered that the supposed Calako carried 
a cedar bough in his hand, when it should have been willow; then they 
knew that it was Masauwuh who had been misleading them. 

“The boy hero one day found Masauwuh asleep, and so regained 
possession of the mask. Muiyinwuh then withdrew his punishments 


668 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. AN.V. 17 


and sent Paliiliikon (the Plumed Snake) to tell tlie Hopi that Calako 
would never return to them, but that the boy hero should wear his 
mask and represent him, and his festival should be eelebrated when 
they had a proper number of novices to be initiated.” 1 

Several food basins from Sikyatki have a human hand depicted upon 
them, and in one of these both hands are represented. On the most 
perfect of these hand figures (plate cxxxvn, c) a wristlet is well rep¬ 
resented, with two triangular figures, which impart to it an unusual 
form. From between the index and second finger there arises a tri¬ 
angular appendage, which joins a graceful curve, extending on one side 
to the base of the thumb and continued on the other side to the arm. 
The whole inside of the basin, except the figure of the hand and its 
appendage, is decorated with spattering, 2 and on the outside there is 
a second figure, evidently a hand or the paw of some animal. This 
external decoration also has a triangular figure in which are two ter¬ 
races, recalling rain-cloud symbols. 

One of the most interesting representations of the human hand (figure 
354) is found on the exterior of a beautiful bowl. The Jour fingers and 
the thumb are shown with representations of nails, a unique feature 
in such decorations. From between the index finger and the next, or 
rather from the tip of the former, arises an appendage comparable with 
that before mentioned, but of much simpler form. The palm of the 
hand is crossed by a number of parallel lines, which recall a custom of 
using the palm lines in measuring ceremonial prayer sticks, as I have 
described in a memoir on the Snake dance. In place of the arm this 
hand has many parallel lines, the three medial ones being continued 
far beyond the others, as shown in the figure. 

Quadrupeds 

Figures of quadrupeds are sparingly used in the decoration of food 
bowls or basins, but the collection shows several fine specimens on which 
appear some of the mammalia with which the Hopi are familiar. Most 
of these are so well drawn that there appears to be no question as to 
their identification. 

One of the most instructive of these figures is shown in plate cxxx, 
a, which is much worn, and indistinct in detail, although from what 
can be traced it was probably intended to represent a mythic creature 
known as the Giant Elk. The head bears two branched horns, drawn 
without perspective, and the neck has a number of short parallel 
marks similar to those occurring on the figure of an antelope on the 

1 The celebration occurs in the modern Tusayan pueblos in the Powamii where the representative of 
Calako flogs the children. Calako’s picture is found on the Powamii altars of several of the villages 
of the Hopi. 

figures of the human hand have been found on the walls of cliff houses. These were apparently- 
made in somewhat the same way as that on the above bowl, the hand being placed on the surface and 
pigment spattered about it. See “ The Cliff" Ruins of Canyon de Chelly,” by Cosmos Mindeleff; Six¬ 
teenth Annual Report, 1894-95. 



BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 


SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. CXXVIII 



MEDICINE BOX AND PIGMENT POTS FROM SIKYATKI 















FEWKES] 


QUADRUPEDS FIGURED ON POTTERY 


669 


walls of one of tlie kivas at Walpi. The hoofs are bifid, and from a 
short stunted, tail there arises a curved line which encircles the whole 
figure, connecting a series of round spots and terminating in a trian¬ 
gular figure with three parallel lines representing feathers. Perhaps 
the strangest of all appendages to this animal is at the tail, which is 
forked, recalling the tail of certain birds. Its meaning is unknown 
to me. 

There' can be no doubt that the delineator sought to represent in 
this figure one of the numerous horned Cervidce with which the ancient 
Hopi were familiar, but the drawing is so incomplete that to choose 
between the antelope, deer, and elk seems impossible. It may be 
mentioned, however, that the Horn people are reputed to have been 
early arrivals in Tusayan, and it is not improbable that representa¬ 
tives of the Horn clans lived in Sik- 
yatki previous to its overthrow. 

Two faintly drawn animals, evi¬ 
dently intended for quadrupeds, 
appear on the interior of the food 
bowl shown in plate cxxx, b. These 
are interesting from the method in 
which they were drawn. They are 
not outlined with defined lines, but 
are of the original color of the bowl, 
and appear as two ghost like figures 
surrounded by a dense spattering 
of red spots, similar in technic to the 
figure of the human hand. I am 
unable to identify these animals, but 
provisionally refer them to the rab¬ 
bit. They have no distinctive sym¬ 
bolism, however, and are destitute 
of the characteristic spots which 
members of the Rabbit clan now invariably place on their totemic 
signatures. 

The animal design on the bowl illustrated in plate cxxx, c, probably 
represents a rabbit or hare, quite well drawn in profile, with a feathered 
appendage from the head. Behind it is the ordinary symbol of the 
dragon-fly. Several crosses are found in an opposite hemisphere, sepa¬ 
rated from that occupied by the two animal pictures by a series of 
geometric figures ornamented with crooks and other designs. 

The interior of the food bowl shown in plate cxxx, d, as well as the 
inner sides of the two ladles represented in plate cxxxi, b, d , are deco¬ 
rated with peculiar figures which suggest the porcupine. The body 
is crescentic and covered with spines, and only a single leg, with claws, 
is represented. It is worthy of mention that so many of these animal 
forms have only one leg, representative, no doubt, of a single pair, and 



r> 


Fig. 264—Mountain sheep 









670 EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 [eth.a.\u. 17 

that many of these have plantigrade paws like those of the bear and 
badger. The appendages to the head in this figure remind one of 
those of certain forms regarded as reptiles, with which this may be 
identical. 

In another decoration we have what is apparently the same animal 
furnished with both fore and hind legs, the tail curving upward like 
that of a cottontail rabbit, which it resembles in other particulars as 
well. This figure also hangs by a band from a geometric' design 
formed of two crescents and bearing four parallel marks representing 


Fig. 265—Mountain lion 

feathers. The single crescent depicted on the inside of the ladle 
shown in plate cxxxi, is believed to represent the same conception, 
or the moon; and in this connection the very close phonetic resem¬ 
blance between the Hopi name for moon 1 and that for the mammal 
may be mentioned. In the decoration last described the same cres¬ 
centic figure is elaborated into its zoomorphic equivalent. 


mole or gopher; mu’iyawd, moon. There maybe some Hopi legend connecting the gopher 
■with the moon, but thus far it has eluded my studies, and I can at present do no more than call atten¬ 
tion to what appears to he an interesting etymological coincidence. 



BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 


SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. CXXIX 



DESIGNS ON FOOD BOWLS FROM SIKYATKI 




















. 






























































FEWKES] 


KEPTILIAN FORMS IN SIKYATKI POTTERY 


671 


An enumeration of the pictographic representations of mammalia 
includes the beautiful food bowl shown in plate cxxx, e , which is made 
of fine clay spattered with brown pigment. This design (reproduced 
in figure 264) represents probably some ruminant, as the mountain 
sheep or possibly the antelope, both of which gave names to clans 
said to have resided at Sikyatki. The hoofs are characteristic, and 
the markings on the back suggest a fawn or spotted deer. There is a 
close similarity between the design below this animal aud that of the 
exterior decorations of certain vases and square medicine bowls. 

Among the pictures of quadrupedal animals depicted on ancient 
food bowls there is none more striking than that illustrated in plate 
cxxx, /, which has been identified as the mountain lion. While this 
identification is more or less problematical, it is highly possible. The 
claws of the forelegs (figure 265) are evidently those of one of the 
carnivora of the cat family, of which the mountain lion is the most 
prominent in Tusayan. The anterior part of the body is spotted; the 
posterior and the hind legs are black. The snout bears little resem¬ 
blance to that of the puma. 

The entire inner surface of the bowl, save a central circle in which 
the head, fore-limbs, and anterior part of the body are represented, is 
decorated by spattering. Within this spattered area there are highly 
interesting figures, prominent among which is a squatting figure of a 
man, with the hand raised to the mouth and holding a ceremonial cig¬ 
arette, as if engaged in smoking. The seven patches in black might 
well be regarded as either footprints or leaves, four of which appear 
to be attached to the band inclosing the central area. In the intervals 
between three of these there are brauched bodies representing plants 
or bushes. 

Reptiles 

Snakes and other reptilian forms were represented by the ancient pot¬ 
ters in the decoration of food bowls, and it is remarkable how closely 
some of these correspond in symbolism with conceptions still current 
in Tusayan. Of all reptilian monsters the worship of which forms a 
prominent element in Hopi ritual, that of the Great Plumed Snake is 
perhaps the most important. Effigies of this monster exist in all the 
larger Hopi villages, and they are used in at least two great rites—the 
Soyaluna in December and the Paliilukonti in March, as I have 
already described. The symbolic markings and appendages of the 
Plumed Snake effigy are distinctive, and are found in all modern rep¬ 
resentations of this mystic being. While several pictographs of 
snakes are found on Sikyatki pottery, there is not a single instance in 
which these modern markings appear; consequently there is consid¬ 
erable doubt in regard to the identification of many of the Sikyatki 
serpents with modern mythologic representatives. 

In questioning the priests in regard to the derivation of the Plumed 
Serpent cult in Tusayan, I have found that they declare that this 



672 EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 [eth.ann. 17 

cultus was brought into Tusayan from a mythic land in the south, 
called Palatkwabi, and that the effigies and fetiches pertaining to it 
were introduced by the Patki or Water-house people. From good evi¬ 
dence, I suspect that the arrival of this phratry was comparatively 
late in Tusayan history, and it is possible that Sikyatki was destroyed 
before their advent, for in all the legends which I have been able to 
gather no one ascribes to Sikyatki any clan belonging to the plira- 
tries which are said to have migrated from the far south. I believe 
we must look toward the east, whence the ancestors of the Kokop or 


Fig. 266—Plumed serpent 

Firewood people are reputed to have come, for the origin, of the symbolic 
markings of the snakes represented on Sikyatki ceramics. Figures 
of apodal reptiles, with feathers represented on their heads, occur in 
Sikyatki pictography, although there is no resemblance in the markings 
of their bodies to those of modern pictures. One of the most strik¬ 
ing of these occurs on the inside of the food basin shown in plate 
cxxxii, a. It represents a serpent with curved body, the tail being 
connected with the head, like an ancient symbol of eternity. The body 
(figure 266) is destitute of any distinctive markings, but is covered 
with a crosshatching of black lines. The head bears two triangular 






BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 


SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. CXXX 



M.W.H 


FOOD BOWLS WITH FIGURES OF QUADRUPEDS FROM SIKYATKI 









FEWKES] 


REPTILIAN FLGURES ON POTTERY 


673 


markings, which are regarded as feather symbols. The position of 
the eyes would seem to indicate that the top of the head is repre¬ 
sented, but this conclusion is not borne out by comparative studies, 
for it was often the custom of ancient Tusayan potters, like other prim¬ 
itive artists, to represent both eyes on one side of the head. 

The zigzag line occupying the position of the tongue and terminat¬ 
ing in a triangle is a lightning symbol, with which the serpent is still 
associated. While striving not to strain the symbolism of this figure, 
it is suggested that the three curved marks ou the lower aud upper 
jaws represent fangs. It is highly probable that conceptions not 
greatly unlike those which cluster about the Great Plumed Serpent 
were associated with this mythic snake, the figure of which is devoid 
of some of* the most essential elements of modern symbolism. 

While from the worn character of the middle of the food bowl illus¬ 
trated in plate cxxxn, b, it is not possible to discover whether the 
animal was apodal or not from the crosshatching of the body and the 
resemblance of the appendages of the head to those of the figure last 
considered, it appears probable that this pictograph likewise was 
intended to represent a snake of mystic character. Like the previous 
figure, this also is coiled, with the tail near the head, its body cross- 
hatched, and with two triangular appendages to the head. There is, 
however, but one eye, and the two jaws are elongated and provided 
witli teeth, 1 as in the case of certain reptiles. 

The similarity of the head and its appendages to the snake figure last 
described would lead me to regard the figure shown in plate cxxxn, c, 
as representing a like animal, but the latter picture is more elaborately 
worked out in details, and one of the legs is well represented. I have 
shown in the discussion of a former figure how the decorator, recogniz¬ 
ing the existence of two eyes, represented them both on one side of the 
head of a profile figure, although only one is visible,and we see in.this 
picture (figure 267) a somewhat similar tendency, which is very com¬ 
mon in modern Tusayau figures of animals. The breath line is drawn 
from the extremity of the snout halfway down the length of the body. 
In modern pictography a representation of the heart is often depicted 
at the blind extremity of this line, as if, in fact, there was a connection 
with this organ and the tubes through which the breath passes. In the 
Sikyatki pottery, however, I find only this one specimen of drawing 
in which an attempt to represent internal organs is made. 

The tail of this singular picture of a reptile is highly convention¬ 
alized, bearing appendages of unknown import, but recalling feathers, 
while on the back are other appendages which might be compared with 
wings. Both of these we might expect, considering the association of 
bird and serpent in the Hopi conception of the Plumed Snake. 

■This form of mouth I hare found in pictures of quadrupeds, birds, and insects, and is believed to 
be conventionalized. Of a somewhat similar structure are the mouths of the Xatacka monsters 
•which appear in the Walpi Fowamd ceremony. See the memoir on "Tusayan Katcinas,” in the 
Fifteenth Annual Report. 

17 ETH, PT 2-14 





674 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANX. 17 


Exact identifications of these pictures with the animals by which 
the Hopi are or were surrounded, is, of course, impossible, for they are 
not realistic representations, but symbolic figures of mythic beings 
unknown save to the imagination of the primitive mythologist. 

A similar reptile is pictured on the food bowl shown in plate cxxxn, d, 
in which design, however, there are important modifications, the most 
striking of which are: (1) The animal (figure 208) has both fore and 
hind legs represented; (2) the head is round; (3) the mouth is provided 
with teeth; and (4) there are four instead of two feather appendages 



Fig. 267—Unknown reptile 


on the head, two of which are much longer than the others. Were it 
not that ears are not represented in reptiles, one would be tempted to 
regard the smaller appendages as representations of these organs. 
Their similarity to the row of spines on the back and the existence of 
spines on the head of the “horned toad” suggests this reptile, with 
which both ancient and modern Hopi are very familiar. On a fragment 
of a vessel found at Awatobi there is depicted the head of a reptile 
evidently identical with this, since the drawing is an almost perfect 
reproduction. There is a like figure, also from Sikyatki, in the col- 



Bureau of American ethnology 


seventeenth annual report pl. cxxxi 



ORNAMENTED LADLES FROM SIKYATKI 













FEWKES] 


REPTILIAN FIGURES ON POTTERY 


675 


lection of pottery made at that ruin by Dr Miller, of Prescott, the 
year following my work there. The most elaborate of all the pictures 
of reptiles found on ancient Tusayan pottery is shown in plate cxxxii, e, 
in which the symbolism is complicated and the details carefully worked 
out. A few of these symbols I am able to decipher; others elude pres¬ 
ent analysis. There is no doubt as to the meaning of the appendage 
to the head (figure 269), for it well portrays an elaborate feathered 
headdress on which the markings that distinguish tail-feathers, three 



Fig. 268— Unknown reptile 


in number, are prominent. The extension of the snout is without 
homologue elsewhere in Hopi pictography, and, while decorative in 
part, is likewise highly conventionalized. On the body semicircular 
rain cloud symbols and markings similar to those of the bodies of cer¬ 
tain birds are distinguishable. The feet likewise are more avian than 
reptilian, but of a form quite unusual in structure. It is interestiug to 
note the similarity in the curved line with six sets of parallel bars to 
the band surrounding the figure of the human hand shown in plate 
cxxxvii, c. In attempting to identify the pictograph on the bowl repro- 






[ETH. ANN. 17 


676 EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 

duced in plate cxxxiv, a , there is little to guide me, and the nearest I 
can come to its significance is to ascribe it to a reptile of some kind. 
Highly symbolic, greatly conventionalized as this figure is, there is 
practically nothing on which to base the absolute identification of the 
figure save the serrated appendage to the body and the leg, which 
resembles that of the lizard as it is sometimes drawn. The two eyes 
indicate that the enlargement in which these were placed is the head, 



I’ig. 269—Unknown reptile 

and the extended curved snout a beak. All else is incomprehensible 
to me, and my identification is therefore provisional and largely 
speculative. 

I wish, however, iu leaving the description of this beautiful bowl, to 
invite attention to the brilliancy and the characteristics of the coloring, 
which differ from the majority of the decorated ware from Sikyatki. 

Among the fragments of pottery found iu the Sikyatki graves there 
was one which, had it been entire, would doubtless have thrown con- 
, siderable light on ancient pictography. This fragment has depicted 






BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 


SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. CXXXII 



FOOD BOWLS WITH FIGURES OF REPTILES FROM SIKYATKI 

























































BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 


SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. CXXXIII 



BOWLS AND DIPPERS WITH FIGURES OF TADPOLES, BIRDS, ETC. FROM SIKYATKI 




































BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 


SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. CXXXIV 



FOOD BOWLS WITH FIGURES OF SUN, BUTTERFLY,AND FLOWER FROM SIKYATKI 














FEWKES] 


REPTILIAN FIGURES ON POTTERY 


677 


upon it portions of tlie body and the whole head and neck of a rep¬ 
tilian animal. We find on that part of the body which is represented, 
three parallel marks which recall those on the modern pictures of the 
Great Plumed Serpent. On the back there were apparently the repre¬ 
sentations of wings, a feather of which is shown above the head. The 
head likewise bears a crest of three feathers, and there are three rep¬ 
tilian like toes. Whether this represents a reptile or a bird it is impos¬ 
sible for me to say, but enough has already been recorded to indicate 
how close the symbolism of these two groups sometimes is in ancient 
pictography. It would almost appear as if the profound anatomical 
discovery of the close kinship of birds and reptiles was unconsciously 
recognized by a people destitute of the rudiments of the knowledge of 
morphology. 

Tadpoles 

Among the inhabitants of an arid region, where rain-making forms a 
dominant element in their ritual, water animals are eagerly adopted as 
symbols. Among these the tadpole occupies a foremost position. The 
figures of this batrachian are very simple, and are among the most 
common of those used on ceremonial paraphernalia in Tusayan at the 
present time. In none of these is anything more than a globular head 
and a zigzag tail represented, and, as in nature, these are colored black. 
The tadpole appears on several pieces of painted pottery from Sikyatki, 
one of the best of which is the food bowl illustrated in plate cxxxm, a. 
The design represents a number of these aquatic animals drawn inline 
across the diameter of the inner surface of the bowl, while on each side 
there is a row of rectangular blocks representing rain clouds. These 
blocks are separated from the tadpole figures by crescentic lines, and 
above them are short parallel lines recalling the symbol of falling rain. 

One of the most beautiful forms of ladles from Sikyatki is figured iu 
plate cxxxm, b, a specimen in which the art of decoration by spatter¬ 
ing is effectively displayed. The interior of the bowl of this dipper is 
divided by parallel lines into two zones, in each of which two tadpoles 
are represented. The handle is pointed at the end and is decorated. 
This specimen is considered one of the best from Sikyatki. 

The rudely drawn picture on the bowl figured in plate cxxxii, /, 
would be identified as a frog, save for the presence of a tail which 
would seem to refer it to the lizard kind. But in the evolution of the 
tadpole into the frog a tailed stage persists in the metamorphosis 
after the legs develop. In modern pictures 1 of the frog with which 
I am familiar, this batrachian is always represented dorsally or ven- 
trally with tlie legs outstretched, while in the lizards, as we have seen, 
a lateral view is always adopted. As the sole picture found on ancient 

'Figures of the tadpole and frog are often found on modern medicine howls in Tusayan. The 
snake, so common on Zuni ceremonial pottery, has not been seen by me on a single object of earthen¬ 
ware in use in modern flopi ritual. 






678 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


pottery where the former method is employed, this fact may be of value 
iu the identification of this rude outline as a frog rather than as a true 
reptile. 

Butterflies or Moths 

One of the most characteristic modern decorations employed by the 
Hopi, especially as a symbol of fecundity, is the butterfly or moth. It 
is a constant device on the beautiful white or cotton blankets woven 
by the men as wedding gifts, where it is embroidered on the margin 
in the forms of triangles or even iu more realistic patterns. This 
symbol is a simple triangle, which becomes quite realistic when 
a line is drawn bisecting one of the angles. This double triangle 
is not only a constant symbol on wedding blankets, but also is found 
on the dadoes of houses, resembling in design the arrangement of 
tiles iu the Alhambra and other Moorish buildings. This custom of 
decorating the walls of a building with triangles placed at intervals on 

the upper edge of a 
dado is a feature of 
cliff-house kivas, as 
shown in Norden- 
skibld’s beautiful 
memoir on the cliff 
villages of Mesa 
Yerde. While an 
isosceles triangle 
represents the sim- 
fiq. 270 —Outline of plate cxxxv, b plest form of the but¬ 

terfly symbol, and 

is common on ancient pottery, a few vessels from Sikyatki show a 
much more realistic figure. Iu plate cxxxiv, J\ is shown a moth 
with extended proboscis and articulated antennae, and in d of the same 
plate another form, with the proboscis inserted in a flower, is given. 
As an associate with summer, the butterfly is regarded as a benefi¬ 
cent being aside from its fecundity, and one of the ancient Hopi clans 
regarded it as their totem. Perhaps the most striking, and I may say 
the most inexplicable, use of the symbol of the butterfly is the so-called 
Holtona or Butterfly virgin slab used in the Antelope ceremonies of the 
Snake dance at Walpi, where it is associated with the tadpole water 
symbol. 

The most beautiful of all the butterfly designs are the six figures on 
the vase reproduced in plate cxxxv, b. From the number of these pic¬ 
tures it would seem that they bore some relationship to the six world- 
quarters—north, west, south, east, zenith, and nadir. The vase has a 
flattened shoulder, and the six butterfly figures are represented as 
4 flying toward the orifice. These insect figures closely resemble one 
another, and are divided into two groups readily distinguished by the 
symbolism of the heads. Three have each a cross with a single dot iu 








BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 


SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL CXXXV 



VASES WITH FIGURES OF BUTTERFLIES 


FROM SIKYATKI 

































BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 


SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. CXXXVI 



VASES WITH FIGURES OF BIRDS AND FEATHERS FROM SIKYATKI 


























FEWKES] 


BUTTERFLY FIGURES ON POTTERY 


679 


each quadrant, and each of the other three has a dotted head without 
the cross. These two kinds alternate with each other, and the former 
probably indicate females, since the same symbols on the heads of the 
snakes in the sand picture of the Antelope altar in the Snake dance 
are used to designate the female. 1 

Two antennae and a double curved proboscis are indicated in all the 
figures of butterflies on the vase under consideration. The zones above 
and below are both cut by a ‘‘line of life,” the opening through which 
is situated on opposite equatorial poles in the upper and under rim. 



Fig. 271—Butterfly design on upper surface of plate cxxxv, 6 


The rectangular figures associated with the butterflies on this elabo¬ 
rately decorated vase are of two patterns alternating with each other. 
The rectangles forming one of these patterns incloses three vertical 
feathers, with a triangle on the right side and a crook on the left. 
The remaining three rectangles also have three feathers, but they are 
arranged longitudinally on the surface of the vase. 


'Journal of American Ethnology and Archceology, vol. iv. 













680 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


The elaborate decoration of the zone outside the six butterflies is 
made up of feathers arranged in three clusters of three each, alter¬ 
nating with key patterns, crosshatched crooks, triangles, and frets. 
The wealth of ornament on this part of the vase is noteworthy, and 
its interpretation very baffling. This vase may well be considered the 
most elaborately decorated in the whole collection from Sikyatki. 

There are several figures of butterflies, like those shown in plate 
oxxxi, a, in which the modifications of wings and body have proceeded 
still further, and the only features which refer them to insects are the 
jointed antennae. The passage from this highly conventionalized, 
design into a triangular figure is not very great. There are still others 
where the head, with attached appendages, arises not from an angle of a 
triangle, but from the middle of one side. This gives us a veiy com¬ 
mon form of butterfly symbol, which is found, variously modified, on 
many ancient vessels. In such designs there is commonly a row of 
dots on each side, which may be represented by a sinuous line, a series 
of triangles, bars, or parallel bars. 

The design reproduced in plate cxxxiv, d , represents a moth or 
butterfly associated with a flower, and several star symbols. It is 
evidently similar to that figured in a of the same plate, and has 
representations of antenna} and extended proboscis, the latter organ 
placed as if extracting honey from the flower. The conventional flower 
is likewise shown in e of this plate. The two crescentic designs in plate 
cxxxv, a, are regarded as butterflies. 

The jar illustrated in plate cxlv, b , is ornamented with highly con¬ 
ventionalized figures on four sides, and is the only one taken from the 
Sikyatki cemeteries in which the designs are limited to the equatorial 
surface. The most striking figure, which is likewise found on the base 
of the paint saucer shown in plate cxlvi, /, is a diamond-shape design 
with a triangle at each corner (figure 270). The pictures drawn on 
alternating quadrants have very different forms, which are difficult to 
classify, and I have therefore provisionally associated this beautiful 
vessel with those bearing the butterfly and the triangle. The form of 
this vessel closely approaches that of the graceful cooking pots made 
of coiled and coarse indented ware, but the vessel was evidently not 
used for cooking purposes, as it bears no marks of soot. 1 

Dkagon-flies 

Among the most constant designs used in the decoration of Sikyatki 
pottery are figures of the dragon-fly. These decorations consist of a 
line, sometimes enlarged into a bulb at one end, with two parallel 
bars drawn at right angles across the end, below the enlargement. 
Like the tadpole, the dragon-fly is a symbol of water, and with it are 
associated many legends connected with the miraculous sprouting of 
corn in early times. It is a constant symbol on modern ceremonial 

1 Although made of beautiful yellow ware, it shows at one point marks of having been overheated 
in firing, as is often the case with larger vases and jars. 



BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 


SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. CXXXVII 



VESSELS WITH FIGURES OF HUMAN HAND, BlRDS, TURTLE, ETC. FROM SIKYATKI 














FEWKES] 


DRAGON-FLY FIGURES ON POTTERY 


681 


paraphernalia, as masks, tablets, and pakos, and it occurs also on 
several ancient vessels (plates cxl, fc; clxiii, a), where it always has 
the same simple linear form, with few essential modifications. 

The symbols of four dragon-flies are well shown on the rim of the 
square box represented in plate cxxvm, a. This box, which was proba¬ 
bly for charm liquid, or possibly for feathers used in ceremonials, is 
unique in form and is one of the most beautiful specimens from the 
Sikyatki cemeteries. It is elaborately decorated on the four sides with 
rain-cloud and other symbols, and is painted in colors which retain 
their original brilliancy. The interior is not decorated. 

The four dragon-flies on the rim of this object are placed in such a 
way as to represent insects flying about the box in a dextral circuit, 
or with the heads turned to the right. This position indicates a 
ceremonial circuit, which is exceptional among the Tusayan people, 
although common in Navaho ceremonies. In the sand picture of the 
Snake society, for instance, where four snakes are represented in a 
border surrounding a mountain lion, these reptiles are represented as 
crawling about the picture from right to left. This sequence is pre¬ 
scribed in Tusayan ceremonials, and has elsewhere been designated by 
me as the sinistral circuit, or a circuit with the center on the left hand. 
The circuit used by the decorator of this box is dextral or sunwise. 

Several rectangular receptacles of earthen ware, some with handles and 
others without them, were obtained in the excavations at Sikyatki. 
The variations in their forms may be seen in plates cxxvm, a. c , and 
cxxv, f. These are regarded as medicine bowls, and are supposed to 
have been used in ancient ceremonials where asperging was performed. 
In many Tusayan ceremonials square medicine bowls, some of them 
without handles, are still used, 1 but a more common and evidently more 
modern variety are round and have handles. The rim of these modern 
sacred vessels commonly bears, in its four quadrants, terraced eleva¬ 
tions representing rain-clouds of the cardinal points, and the outer 
surface of the bowl is decorated with the same symbols, accompanied 
with tadpole or dragon-fly designs. 

One of the best figures of the dragon-fly is seen on the saucer shown 
in plate cxx, /. The exterior of this vessel is decorated with four 
rectangular terraced rain-cloud symbols, one in each quadrant, and 
within each there are three well-drawn figures of the dragon-fly. The 
curved line below represents a rainbow. The terrace form of rain- 
cloud symbol is very ancient in Tusayan and antedates the well- 
known semicircular symbol which was introduced into the country by 
the Patki people. It is stdl preserved iu the form of tablets 2 worn on 

1 One of the best examples of the rectangular or ancient type of medicine howl is used in the cele¬ 
bration of the Snake dance at Oraibi, where it stands on the rear margin of the altar of the Antelope 
priesthood of that puehlo. 

’One of the best of these is that of the Humis-katcina, but good examples occur on the dolls of the 
Calakomanas. The Lakone maid, however, wears a coronet of circular rain-cloud symbols, which 
corresponds with traditions which recount that this form was introduced by the southern clans or 
the Patki people. 




682 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


the head and in sand paintings and various other decorations on altars 
and religious paraphernalia. 

Birds 

The bird and the feather far exceed all other motives in the decora¬ 
tion of ancient Tu sayan pottery, and the former design was probably 
the first animal figure employed for that purpose when the art passed 
out of the stage where simple geometric designs were used exclusively. 
A somewhat similar predominance is found in the part which the bird 
and the feather play in the modern Hopi ceremonial system. As one 
of the oldest elements in the decoration of Tusayan ceramics, figures of 
birds have iu mauy instances become highly conventionalized; so 
much so, iu fact, that their avian form has been lost, and it is one 
of the most instructive problems in the study of Hopi decoration 
to trace the modifications of these designs from the realistic to the more 
conveutionalized. The large series of food bowls from Sikyatki afford 
abundant material for that purpose, and it may incidentally be said 
that by this study I have been able to interpret the meaning of certain 
decorations on Sikyatki bowls of which the best Hopi traditionalists 
are ignorant. 1 In order to show the method of reasoning in this case 
I have taken a series illustrating the general form of an unknown bird. 

There cau be no reasonable doubt that the decoration of the food 
basin shown in plate cxxxvn, a , represents a bird, and analogy would 
indicate that it is the picture of some mythologic personage. It has a 
round head (figure 272), to which is attached a headdress, which we 
shall later show is a highly modified feather ornament. On each side 
of the body from the region of the neck there arise organs which are 
undoubtedly wings, with feathers continued into arrowpoints. The 
details of these wings are very carefully and, I may add, prescriptively 
worked out, so that almost every line, curve, or zigzag is important. 
The tail is composed of three large feathers, which project beyond two 
triangular extensions, marking the end of the body. 

The technic of this figure is exceedingly complicated and the colors 
very beautiful. Although this bowl was quite badly broken wheu 
exhumed, it has been so cleverly mended by Mr Henry Walther that no 
part of the symbolism is lost. 

While it is quite apparent that this figure represents a bird, and 
while this identification is confirmed by Hopi testimony, it is iar from 
a realistic picture of any known bird with which the ancients could 
have been familiar. It is highly conventionalized and idealized with 
significant symbolism, which is highly suggestive. 


■In the evolution of ornament among the Hopi, as among most primitive peoples where new designs 
have replaced the old, the meaning of the ancient symbols has been lost. Consequently we are forced 
to adopt comparative methods to decipher them. If, for instance, on a fragment of ancient pottery we 
find the figure of a bird in which the wing or tail feathers have a certain characteristic symbol form, 
we are justified, when we find the same symbolic design on another fragment where the rest of the 
bird is wanting, in considering the figure that of a wing or tail feather. So when the prescribed 
figure of the feather has been replaced by another form it is not surprising to find it incomprehensi¬ 
ble to modern shamans. The comparative ethnologist may in this way learn the meanings of symbols 
to which the modern Hopi priest can furnish no clue. 



BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 


SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. CXXXVIII 



FOOD BOWLS WITH FIGURES OF BIRDS FROM SIKYATKI 


























* 


% 



























































FEWKES] 


BIRD FIGURES ON POTTERY 


683 


Bearing in mind the picture of this bird, we pass to a second form 
(plate cxxxvm, a), in which we can trace the same parts without 
difficulty. On a round head is placed a feathered headdress. The 
diflerent parts of the outstretched wings are readily homologized even 
in details in the two figures. There are, for instance, two terminal 
wing feathers in each wing; the appendages to the shoulder exist in 
both, and the lateral spurs, exteriorly and interiorly, are represented 
with slight modifications. 


Fig. 272—Man-eagle 

The body is ornamented in the same way in both figures. It is con¬ 
tinued posteriorly on each side into triangular extensions, and the 
same is true of its anterior, which in one figure has three curved 
lines, and in the other a simple crook. There are three tail-feathers in 
each figure. I believe there can be no doubt that both these designs 
represent the same idea, and that a mythologic bird was intended in 
each instance. 

The step in conventionalism from the last-mentioned figure of a bird 
to the next (plate cxlvii, a) is even greater than in the former. The head 



















684 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA TN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


in this picture is square or rectangular, and the wings likewise simple, 
ending in three incurved triangles without appendages. The tail has 
five feathers instead of three, in which, however, the same symbolic 
markiugs which distinguish tail-feathers are indicated. 

The conventionalized wings of this tigure are repeated again and 
again in ancient Tusayan pottery decorations, as one may see by an 
examination of the various birds shown in the plates. In many in¬ 
stances, however, all the other parts of the bird are lost and nothing 
but the triangular feathers remain; but as these have the same form, 
whatever organs are missing, the presumption is that their meaning 
has not changed. 

In passing to the figure of the bird shown in plate cxxxvm, Z>, we 
find features homologous with those already considered, but also detect 
considerable modification. The head is elongated, tipped with three 
parallel lines, but decorated with markings similar to those of tlie pre¬ 
ceding figure. The outstretched wings have a crescentic form, on the 
anterior horn of which are round spots with parallel lines arising from 
them. This is a favorite figure in pottery decoration, and is found very 
abundantly on the exterior of food bowls; it represents highly conven¬ 
tionalized feathers, aud should be so interpreted wherever found. The 
figure of the body of the bird depicted is simple, aud the tail is con¬ 
tinued into three tail-feathers, as is ordinarily the case in highly 
conventionalized bird figures. 

The most instructive of all the appendages to the body are the club- 
shape bodies, one on each side, rising from the point of union of the 
wings and the breast. These are spatulate in form, with a terraced 
terminal marking. They, like' other appendages, represent feathers, 
but that peculiar kind which is found under the wing is called the 
breath feather . 1 This feather is still used in certain ceremonials, and is 
tied to certain prayer offerings. Its ancient symbolism is very clearly 
indicated in this picture, and is markedly different from that of either 
the wing or tail feathers, which have a totally different ceremonial use 
at the present time. 

For convenience of comparison, a number of pictures which undoubt¬ 
edly refer to different birds in ancient interpretations will be grouped 
in a single series. 

Plate oxxxviii, d, represents a figure of a bird showing great relative 
modification of organs when compared with those previously discussed. 
The head is very much broadened, but the semicircular markings, which 
occur also on the heads of previously described bird figures, are well 
drawn. The wings are mere curved appendages, destitute of feather 
symbols, but are provided with lateral spurs and have knobs at their 

'In an examination of many figures of ancient vessels where this peculiar design occurs it will he 
found that in all instances they represent feathers, although the remainder of the bird is not to be 
found. The same may also he said of the design which represents the tail-feathers. This way of 
representing feathers is not without modern survival, for it may still be seen in many dolls of mystic 
personages who are reputed to have worn feathered garments. 



BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 


SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. CXXXIX 



FOOD BOWLS WITH FIGURES OF BIRDS FROM SIKYATKI 










•I 































Si 

































































FEWKES] 


BIRD FIGURES ON POTTERY 


G85 


bases. The body is rectangular; the tail-feathers are numerous, with 
well-marked symbolism. Perhaps the most striking appendages to the 
body are the two well-defined extensions of parts of the body itself, 
which, although represented in other pictures of birds, nowhere reach 
such relatively large size. 

The figure of a bird shown in plate cxxxvm, c, is similar in many 
respects to that last described. The semicircular markings on the head 
of the former are here replaced by triangles, but both are symbolic of 
rain-clouds. The wings are curved projections, without any sugges¬ 
tion of feathers or basal spurs and knobs. The tail-feathers show noth¬ 
ing exceptional, and the body is bounded posteriorly by triangular 
extensions, as in figures of birds already described. 

The representation of the bird in plate cxxxvm, e, has a triangular 
body continued into two points on the posterior end, between which 
the tail feathers are situated. The body is covered with terraced and 
triangular designs, and the head is rectangular in form. On each side 
of the bird figure there is a symbol of a fiower, possibly the sunflower 
or an aster. 

In the figures of birds already considered the relative sizes of the 
heads and bodies are not overdrawn, but in the picture of a bird on 
the food bowl shown in plate cxxxvm,/, the head is very much enlarged. 
It bears a well-marked terraced rain-cloud symbol above triangles of 
the same meaning. The wings are represented as diminutive append¬ 
ages, each consisting of two feathers. The body has a triangular exten¬ 
sion on each side, and the tail is composed of two comparatively short 
rectangular feathers. The figure itself could hardly be identified as 
a representation of a bird were it not for the correspondence, part for 
part, with figures which are undoubtedly those of birds or flying animals. 

A more highly conventionalized figure of a bird than any thus far 
described is painted on the food bowl reproduced in plate cxl, b. The 
head is represented by a terraced figure similar to those which appear 
as decorations on some of the other vessels; the wings are simply 
extended crescents, the tips of which are connected by a band which 
encircles the body and tail; the body is continued at the posterior 
end into two triangular appendages, between which is a tail, the 
feathers of which are not differentiated. On each side of the body, in 
the space inclosed by the band connecting the tips of the wings, a fig¬ 
ure of a dragon fly appears. 

The figure on the food bowl illustrated in plate cxxxix, c, may also 
be reduced to a conventionalized bird symbol. The two pointed objects 
on the lower rim represent tail-feathers, and the triangular appendages, 
one on each side above them, the body, as in the designs which have 
already been described. Above the triangles is a rectangular figure 
with terraced rain-cloud emblems, a constant feature on the body and 
head of the bird, and on each side, near the rim of the bowl, occur 
the primary feathers of the wings. The cross, so frequently associated 



G86 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN 17 


witli designs representing birds, is replaced by the triple intersecting 
lines in the remaining area. The resemblance of this figure to those 
already considered is clearly evident after a little study. 

The decoration on the food basin presented in plate cxxxix, a, is 
interesting in the study of the evolution of bird designs into conven¬ 
tional forms. In this figure those parts which are identified as horno- 
logues of the wings extend wholly across the interior of the food bowl, 
and have the forms of triangles with smaller triangular spurs at their 
bases. The wings are extended at right angles to the axis of the body, 
and taper uniformly to the rim of the bowl. The smaller spurs near the 
union of the wings and body represent the posterior part of the latter, 
and between them are the tail-feathers, their number beiug indicated by 
three triangles. 

There is no representation of a head, although the terraced rain-cloud 
figure is drawn on the anterior of the body between the wings. 

The reduction of the triangular wings of the last figure to a simple 
band drawn diametrically across the inner surface of the bowl is accom¬ 
plished in the design shown in plate cxxxix, b. At intervals along 
this line there are arranged groups of blocks, three in each group, 
representing stars, as will later be shown. The semicircular head has 
lost all appendages and is reduced to a rain-cloud symbol. The pos¬ 
terior angles of the body are much prolonged, and the tail still bears 
the markings representing three tail-feathers. 

The association of a cross with the bird figure is both appropriate 
and common; its modified form in this decoration is not exceptional, 
but why it is appeuded to the wings is not wholly clear. We shall see 
its reappearance on other bowls decorated with more highly conven¬ 
tionalized bird figures. 

In the peculiar decoration used in the treatment of the food bowl 
shown in plate cxxxix, c, Ave have almost a return to geometric 
figures in a conventional representation of a bird. In this case the 
semblance to wings is wholly lost in the liue drawn diametrically across 
the interior of the bowl. On one side of it there are many crosses 
representing stars, and on the other the body and tail of a bird. The 
posterior triangular extensions of the former are continued to a bounding 
line of the bowl, and no attempt is made to represent feathers in the 
tail. The rectangular figure, with sei'rated lower edge and inclosed 
terraced figures, finds, however, a liomologue iu the heads and bodies 
of most of the representations of birds which have been described. 

This gradual reduction in semblance to a bird has gone still further 
in the figure represented in plate cxxxix, d, where the posterior end 
of the body is represented by two spurs, aud the tail by three feathers, 
the triangular raiu-clouds still persisting iu the rectangular body. 
Iu fact, it can hardly be seeu how a more conventionalized figure of 
a bird were possible did we not find in e of the same plate this reduction 
still greater. Here the tail is represented by three parallel lines, the 


BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 


SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. CXL 



FIGURES OF BIRDS FROM SITYATKI 
































r 


fewkes] BIRD and butterfly figures compared 687 

posterior of the body by two dentate appendages, and the body itself 
by a square. 

In plate cxl, c, we have a similar conventional bird symbol where 
two birds, instead of one, are represented. In both these instances it 
would appear that the diametric baud, origiually homologous to wings, 
had lost its former significance. 

It must also be pointed out that there is a close likeness between 
some of these so-called conventionalized figures of birds and those of 
moths or butterflies. If, for instance, they are compared with the fig¬ 
ures of the six designs of the upper surface of the vase shown in plate 
cxxxv, 6, we note especially this resemblance. While, therefore, it can 
hardly be said there is absolute proof that these highly convention¬ 
alized figures always represent birds, we may, I think, be sure that 
either the bird or the moth or butterfly is generally intended. 

There are several modifications of these highly conventionalized fig¬ 
ures of birds which may be mentioned, one of the most interesting of 
which is figured in plate cxxxix, f. In this representation the two 
posterior triangular extensions of the body are modified into graceful 
curves, and the tail-feathers are simply parallel lines. The figure in 
this instance is little more than a trifid appendage to a broad band 
across the inner surface of the food bowl. In addition to this highly 
conventionalized bird figure, however, there are two crosses which rep¬ 
resent stars. In this decoration all resemblance to a bird is lost, and 
it is only by following the reduction of parts that one is able to identify 
this geometric design with the more elaborate pictures of mythic birds. 
When questioned in regard to the meaning of this symbol, the best 
informed Hopi priests had no suggestion to offer. 

In all the figures of birds thus far considered, the head, with one or 
two exceptions, is represented or indicated by symbolic markings. 
In that which decorates the vessel shown in plate cxl, a, we find a 
new modification; the wings, instead of being attenuated into a dia¬ 
metric line or band, are in this case curved to form a loose spiral. 
Between them is the figure of a body and the three tail-feathers, while 
the ti’iangular extensions which generally indicate the posterior of the 
body are simply two rounded knobs at the point of union of the wings 
and tail. There is no indication of a head. 

The modifications in the figure of the bird shown in the last mentioned 
pictograph, and the highly conventionalized forms which the wings and 
other parts assume, give me confidence to venture an interpretation of 
a strange figure shown in plate cxli, a. This picture I regard as a 
representation of a bird, and I do so for the following resemblances to 
figures already studied. The head of the bird, as has been shown, is 
often replaced by a terraced rain-cloud symbol. Such a figure occurs in 
the pictograph under consideration, where it occupies the position of the 
head. On either side of what might be regarded as a body we find, at 
the anterior end, two curved appendages which so closely resemble 


688 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


similarly placed bodies in the pictograpli last discussed that they are 
regarded as representations 8f wings. These extensions at the poste¬ 
rior eud of the body are readily comparable with prolongations in that 
part on which we have already commented. The tail, although dif¬ 
ferent from that in figures of birds thus far discussed, has many points 
of resemblance to them. The two circles, one on each side of the bird 
figure, are important additions which are treated in following pages. 1 

From the study of the conventionalized forms of birds which I have 
outlined above it is possible to venture the suggestion that the star- 
shape figure shown in plate clxvii, &, may be referred to the same group, 
but in this specimen we appear to have duplication, or a representation 
of the bird symbol repeated in both semicircles of the interior of the 
bowl. Examining one of these we readily detect the two tail-feathers 
in the middle, with the triangular end of the body ou each side. The 
lateral appendages duplicated on each side correspond with the band 
across the middle of the bowl in other specimens, and represent highly 
conventionalized wings. The middle of this compound figure is deco¬ 
rated with a cross, and in each quadrant there is a row of the same 
emblems, equidistant from one another. 

It would be but a short step from this figure to the ancient sun 
symbol with which the eagle and other raptorial birds are intimately 
associated. The figure represented in plate cxxxm, c, is a symbolic 
bird in which the different parts are directly comparable with the other 
bird pictographs already described. One may easily detect in it the 
two wings, the semicircular rain-cloud figures, and the three tail- 
feathers. As in the picture last considered, we see the two circles, each 
with a concentric smaller circle, one on each side of the mythic bird 
represented. Similar circular figures are likewise found in the zone 
surrounding the centrally placed bird picture. 

In the food bowl illustrated in plate cxli, b, we find the two circles 
shown, and between them a rectangular pictograpli the meaning of 
which is not clear. The only suggestion which I have in regard to the 
significance of this object is that it is an example of substitution—the 
substitution of a prayer offering to the mythic bird represented in 
the other b >wls for a figure of the bird itself. This interpretation, 
however, is highly speculative, and should be accepted only with limi¬ 
tations. I have sometimes thought that the prayer-stick or paho may 
originally have represented a bird, and the use of it is an instance of 
the substitution 2 of a symbolic effigy of a bird, a direct survival of 
the time when a bird was sacrificed to the deity addressed. 

At the present time the circle is the totemic signature of the Earth people, representing the hori, 
zon. but it has likewise various other meanings. With certain appendages it is the disk of the sun- 
anil there are ceremonial paraphernalia, as annulets, placed on sand pictures or tied to helmets, which 
may be represented by a simple ring. The meaning of these circles in the bowl refereed to above is 
not clear to me, nor is my series of pictographs sufficiently extensive to enable a discovery of its sig¬ 
nificance by comparative methods. A ring of meal sometimes drawn on the floor of a kiva is called 
a “hc-se,” and a little imagination would easily identify these with the mythic houses of the sky- 
bird, ’ it this inlerpretation is at present only fanciful. 

2 The paho is probably a substitution of a sacrifice of corn or meal given as homage to the god 
addressed. 



BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 


SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. CXLI 



FOOD BOWLS WITH FIGURES OF BIRDS AND FEATHERS FROM SIKYATKI 



























































BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 


SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. CXLII 



VASES, BOWL, AND LADLE, WITH FIGURES OF FEATHERS, FROM SIKYATKI 











• \ 

































FEWKES] 


FEATHER SYMBOLS ON POTTERY 


689 


The studies of the conventional bird figures which are developed in 
the preceding pages make it possible to interpret one of the two 
pictures on the food bowl represented in plate clii, while the realistic 
character of the smaller figure leaves no question that we can rightly 
identify this also as a bird. In the larger figure the wings are of une¬ 
qual size and are tipped with appendages of a more or less decorative 
nature. The posterior part of the body is formed of two triangular 
extensions, to which feathers are suspended, and the tail is composed 
of three large pointed feathers. The head bears the terraced rain- 
cloud designs almost universal in pictograplis of birds. 

It is hardly necessary for me to indicate the head, body, wings, and 
legs of the smaller figure, for they are evidently avian, while the char¬ 
acter of the beak would indicate that a parrot or raptorial genus was 
intended. The same beak is found in the decoration of a vase with a 
bird design, which will later be considered. 

From an examination of the various figures of birds on the Sikyatki 
pottery, and an analysis' of the appendages to the wings, body, and 
legs, it is possible to determine the symbolic markings characteristic 
of two different kinds of feathers, the large wing or tail feathers and 
the so-called breath or body feathers. There is therefore no hesitation, 
when we find an object of pottery ornamented with these symbols, in 
interpreting them as feathers. Such a bowl is that shown in plate 
CXLi, c, in which we find a curved line to which are appended three 
breast feathers. This curved band from which they hang may take 
the form of a circle with two pendent feathers as in plate cxli, d. 

In the design on the bowl figu. A in plate cxli, e, tail-feathers hang 
from a curved band, at each extremity of which is a square design in 
which the cross is represented, ft has been suggested that this repre¬ 
sents the feathered rainbow, a p culiar conception of both the Pueblo 
and the Navaho Indians. The design appearing on the small food bowl 
represented in plate cxli, f is no doubt connected in some way with 
that last mentioned, althou{ h tl e * keness between the appendages to 
the ring and feathers is remote. It is one of those conventionalized 
pictures, the interpretation of which, with the scanty data at hand, 
must be largely theoretical. 

Figures of feathers are most important features in the decoration of 
ancient Sikyatki pottery, an 1 .heir many modifications may readily be 
seen by an examination of the ates. In modern Tusayan ceremonials 
the feather is appended to almost all the different objects used in 
worship; it is essential in the structure of the tiponi or badge of the 
chief, without which no elaborate ceremony can be performed or altar 
erected; it adorns the ima. es on the altars, decorates the heads of 
participants, is presci ;d for the prayer-sticks, and is always apj ended 
to aspergills, rattles, and whistles. 

In the performance of certain ceremonials water from sacred springs 
is used, and this water, sometimes brought from great distances, is 
17 ETH, pt 2 - 15 




690 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[eth.ann. 17 


kept in small gourd or clay vases, arouud the necks of which a string 
with attached feathers is tied. Such a vase is the so-called patne which 
has been described in a memoir on the Snake ceremonies at Walpi. 1 
The artistic tendency of the ancient people of Sikyatki apparently 
exhibited itself in painting these feathers on the outside of similar 
small vases. Plate cxlii, a, shows one of these vessels, decorated with 
an elaborate design with four breath-feathers suspended from the equa¬ 
tor. (See also figure 273.) On the vases shown in plate cxlii, b, c, are 
found figures of tail feathers arranged in two groups on opposite sides 
of the rim or orifice. One of these groups has eight, the other seven, 
figures of these feathers, and on the two remaining quadrants are the 
star emblems so constantly seen in pottery decorated with bird figures. 
The upper surface of the vase (figure 274) shows a similar arrange¬ 
ment, although the feathers here are conventionalized into triangular 

dentations, seven on 
one side and three on 
the other, individual 
dentations alternating 
with rectangular de¬ 
signs which suggest 
rain-clouds. This vase 
(plate cxliii, u, b) is 
also striking in having 
a well-drawn figure of 
a bird in profile, the 
head, wings, tail, and 
legs suggesting a par¬ 
rot. The zone of dec¬ 
oration of this vessel, 
which surrounds the 
rows of feathers, is strikingly complicated, and comprises rain-cloud, 
feather, and other designs. 

In a discussion of the significance of the design on the food bowl 
represented in plate cxxxix, a, b, I have shown ample reason for regard¬ 
ing it a figure of a highly conventionalized bird. On the upper surface 
of the vase (plate oxliv, a, b) are four similar designs, representing 
birds of the four cardinal points, one on each quadrant. The wings are 
represented by triangular extensions, destitute of appendages but with 
a rounded body at their point of juncture with the trunk. Each bird 
has four tail-feathers and rain-cloud symbols on the anterior end of the 
body. As is the case with the figures on the food basins, there are 
crosses representing stars near the extended wings. A broad band 
connects all these birds, and terraced rain-cloud symbols, six in num- 

1 Journal of American Ethnology and, Archceology , vol. jv. These water gourds figure conspicuously 
in many ceremonies of the Tusayan ritual. The two girls personating the Corn maids carry them in 
the Flute observance, and each of the Antelope priests at Oraibi bears one of these in the Antelope or 
Com dance. 



Fig. 273—Pendent feather ornaments on a vase. 














M.W H. 


VASE WITH FIGURES OF BIRDS FROM SIKYATKI 








BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 


SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. CXLIV 



VASE WITH FIGURES OF BIRDS FROM SIKYATKI 








BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 


SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. CXLV 



VASES WITH FIGURES OF BIRDS FROM SIKYATKI 


































-w 













FEWKES] 


KWATAKA, THE MAN-EAGLE 


691 


ber and arranged in pairs, fill tlie peripheral sections between them. 
This vase, although broken, is one of the most beautiful and instructive 
in the rich collection of Sikyatki ceramics. 

I have not ventured, in the consideration of the manifold pictures of 
birds on ancient pottery, to offer an interpretation of their probable 
generic identification. There is no doubt, however, that they represent 
mythic conceptions, and are emblematic of birds which figured con¬ 
spicuously in the ancient Ilopi Olympus. The modern legends of 
Tusayan are replete with references to such bird-like beings which play 



Fig. 274_ Upper surface of vase with bird decoration 


important roles and which bear evidence of archaic origins. There is, 
however, one fragment of a food bowl which is adorned with a picto- 
graph so realistic and so true to modern legends of a harpy that I have 
not hesitated to affix to it the name current in modern Tusayan folklore. 
This fragment is shown in figure 275. 

According to modern folklore there once lived in the sky a winged 
being called Kwataka, or Man-eagle, who sorely troubled the ancients. 
He was ultimately slain by their War god, the legends of which have 
elsewhere been published. There is a pictograph of this monster near 











692 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


Walpi, 1 and pictures of him, as he exists in modern conceptions, have 
been drawn for me by the priests. These agree so closely with the picto- 
graph and with the representation on the potsherd from Sikyatki, that 
I regard it well nigh proven that they represent the same personage. 
The head is round and bears two feathers, while the star emblem 
appears in the eye. The wing and the stump of a tail are well repre- 


Fig. 275—Kwataka eating an animal 

sen ted, while the leg has three talons, which can only be those of this 
monster. He holds in his grasp some animal form which he is repre¬ 
sented as eating. Across the body is a kilt, or ancient blanket, with 
four diagonal figures which are said to represent flint arrowheads. 
It is a remarkable fact that these latter symbols are practically the 
same as those used by Nahuatl people for obsidian arrow- or spear- 

1 “A few Tusavan Pietographs;” American Anthropologist, Washington, January, 1892 








BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 


SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL CXLVI 



BOWLS AND POTSHERD WITH FIGURES OF BIRDS, FROM SIKYATKI 













BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 


SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. CXLVII 



FOOD BOWLS WITH FIGURES OF BIRDS, FROM SIKYATKI 




























FEWKE8] 


KWATAKA, THE MAN EAGLE 


693 


points. In Hopi lore Kwataka wore a garment of arrowpoints, or, 
according to some legends, a flint garment, and his wings are said to 
have been composed of leathers of the same material. 

From the pose of the figure and the various details of its symbolism 
there can be little doubt that the ancient Sikyatki artists intended to 
represent this monster, of which the modern Hopi rarely speak, and 
then only in awe. Probably several other bird figures likewise repre¬ 
sent Kwataka, but in none of these do the symbols conform so closely 
to legends of this monster which are still repeated in the Tusayan vil¬ 
lages. The home of Kwataka is reputed to be in the sky, and conse¬ 
quently figures of him are commonly associated with star and cloud 
emblems; he is a god of luck or chance, hence it is not exceptional to 
find figures of gaming implements 1 in certain elaborate figures of this 
monster. 

By far the most beautiful of the many food bowls from Sikyatki, and, 
I believe, the finest piece of prehistoric aboriginal pottery from the 
United States, is that figured in plate cxlvi, d. This remarkable 
object, found with others in the sands of the necropolis of this pueblo, 
several feet below the surface, is decorated with a highly conventional 
figure of a bird in profile, but so modified that it is difficult to deter¬ 
mine the different parts. The four appendages to the left represent the 
tail; the two knobs at the right the head, but the remaining parts are 
not comprehensible. The delicacy of the detailed crosshatching on 
the body is astonishing, considering that it was drawn freehand and 
without pattern. The coloring is bright and the surface glossy. 

The curved band from which this strange figure hangs is divided into 
sections by perpendicular incised lines, which are connected by zigzag 
diagonals. The signification of the figure in the upper part of the 
bowl is unknown. While this vessel is unique in the character of its 
decoration, there are others of equal fineness but less perfect in design. 
Competent students of ceramics have greatly admired this specimen, 
and so fresh are the colors that some have found it difficult to believe 
it of ancient aboriginal manufacture. The specimen itself, now on 
exhibition in the National Museum, gives a better idea of its excellence 
than any figure which could be made. This specimen, like all the 
others, is in exactly the same condition as when exhumed, save that it 
has been wiped with a moist cloth to clean the traces of food from its 
inner surface. All the pottery found in the same grave is of the finest 
character, and although no two specimens are alike in decoration, their 
general resemblances point to the same maker. This fact has been 
noticed in several instances, although there were many exceptional 
cases where the coarsest and most rudely painted vessels were associ¬ 
ated with the finest and most elaborately decorated ware. 

The ladle illustrated in plate cxlii, e, is one of the most beautiful in 
the collection. It is decorated with a picture of an unknown animal 


A beautiful example of this kind was found at Homolobi in the summer of 1896. 







694 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


|ETH. ANN. 17 


with a single feather on the head. The eyes are double and the snout 
continued into a long stick or tube, on which the animal stauds. While 
the appendage to the head is undoubtedly a feather and the animal 
recalls a bird, I am in doubt as to its true identification. The star 
emblems on the handle of the ladle are in harmony with known pictures 
of birds. 

The feather decoration on the broken ladle shown in plate cxxxi,/, is 
of more than usual interest, although it is not wholly comprehensible. 
The representations include rain-cloud symbols, birds, feathers, and 
falling rain. The medially placed design, with four parallel lines aris¬ 
ing from a round spot, is interpreted as a feather design, and the two 
triangular figures, one on each side, are believed to represent birds. 

The design on the food bowl depicted in plate cxxxi, e, is obscure, 
but in it feather and star symbols predominate. On the inside of the 
ladle shown in plate cxxxi, e, there is a rectangular design with a 

conventionalized bird at each angle. 
The reduction of the figure of a bird 
to head, body, and two or more tail- 
feathers occurs very constantly in 
decorations, and in many instances 
nothing remains save a crook with 
appended parallel lines representing 
feathers. Examples of this kind oc¬ 
cur on several vessels, of which that 
shown in plate cxev, a, is an 
example. 

There are many pictures of birds 
and feathers where the design has 
fig. 276 Decoration on the bottom ot plate become so conventionalized that it is 

very difficult to recognize the inten¬ 
tion of the decorator. Plate Cxlvii,/, shows one of these in which the 
feather motive is prominent and an approximation to a bird form 
evident. The wings are shown with a symmetric arrangement on the 
sides of the tail, while the latter member has the three feathers which 
form so constant a feature iu many bird symbols. In b of the same 
plate there is shown a more elaborated bird figure, also highly modi¬ 
fied, yet preserving many of the parts which have been identified in 
the design last described. 

The beautiful design shown in plate Oxlvi, e, represents a large 
breath feather with triangular appendages on the sides, recalling the 
posterior end of the body of the bird figures above discussed. 

The interior of the saucer illustrated iu plate clxvi, /, is decorated 
with feather symbols and four triangles. The remaining figures of 
this plate have already been considered. 

The figures on the vessel shown in plate clxvii are so arranged that 
there can be little question of their homologies, and from comparisons 
it is clear that they should all be regarded as representations of birds. 










BUREAU OF AMF.RICAN ETHNOLOGY 


SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. CXLVIII 



FOOD BOWLS WITH SYMBOLS OF FEATHERS FROM SIKYATKI 

















BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 


SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. CXLIX 



FOOD BOWLS WITH SYMBOLS OF FEATHERS FROM SIKYATKI 













FEWKES] 


BIRD AND FEATHER SYMBOLS 


695 


There appears no necessity of discussing figures a and b of the plate 
in this interpretation. In figure c the center of the design becomes 
circular, recalling certain sun symbols, and the tail-feathers are readily 
recognized on one side. I am by no means sure, however, that the 
lateral terraced appendages at the opposite pole are representations of 
wings, but such an interpretation can not be regarded as a forced one. 
Figure d shows the three tail-feathers, lateral appendages suggestive 
of wings, and a square body with the usual decorations of the body 
and head of a bird. The design shown in figure /suggests in many 
ways a sun-bird, and is comparable with those previously studied and 
illustrated. There is no question of the homologues of tail, head, and 
wings. The meridional band across the bowl is similar to those 
already discussed, and its relationship to the head and tail of the bird 
identical. This design is interpreted as that of one of the numerous 
birds associated with the sun. The crescentic extension above what 
is apparently the head occurs in many bird figures and may represent 
a beak. 

Many food bowls from Sikyatki are ornamented on their interior with 
highly conventionalized figures, generally of curved form, in which the 
feather is predominant. Many of these are shown in plates cxlviii 
to cl vn, inclusive, and iu studying them I have found it very difficult 
to interpret the symbolism, although the figures of feathers are easy to 
find in many of them. While my attempt at decipherment is not 
regarded as final, it is hoped that it may at least reveal the important 
place which the feather plays iu Tusayan ceramic decoration. 

Plate cxlviii, a, shows the spiral ornament worn down to its lowest 
terms, with no hint of the feather appendage, but its likeness in outline 
to those designs where the feather occurs leads me to introduce it in 
connection with those in which the feather is more prominent. Figure 
b of the same plate represents a spiral figure with a bird form at the 
inner end, and a bundle of tail-feathers at the outer extremity. On this 
design there is likewise a figure of the dragon-fly and several unknown 
emblems. Figure c has at one extremity a trifid appendage, recalliug 
a feather ornament on the head of a bird shown in plate cxxxvm, a. 
Figure d has no conventionalized feather decoration, but the curved 
line terminates with a triangle. Its signification is unknown to me. 
For several reasons the design in e reminds me of a bird; it is accom¬ 
panied by three crosses, which are almost invariably found in connec¬ 
tion with bird figures, and at the inner end there is attached a breath 
feather. This end of the figure is supposed to be the head, as will 
appear by later comparative studies. The bird form is masked iu /, 
but the feather designs are prominent. This bowl is exceptional in 
having an encircling baud broken at two points, one of the components 
of which is red, the other black. 

Feather designs are conspicuous in plate oxlix, a, b, in the former 
of which curved incised lines are successfully used. In c, however, is 







696 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


found the best example of the use of incised work as an aid iu pottery 
decoration, for iu this specimen there are semicircles, aud rings with 
four triangles, straight lines, aud circles. The symbolism of the whole 
figure has eluded analysis. Figure d has no feather symbols, but e 
may later be reduced to a circle with feathers. The only symbols in 
the design shown in / which are at all recognizable are the two zigzag 
figures which may have been intended to represent snakes, lightning, 
or tadpoles. 

When the design in plate cl, a, is compared with the beautiful bowl 
shown in plate cxlvi, d , a treatment of somewhat similar nature is 
found. It is believed that both represent birds drawn iu profile; the 
four bands (a) are tail-feathers, while the rectangle represents the body 
and the curved appendage a part of the head. From a similarity 
to modern figures of a turkey feather, it is possible that the triangle at 
the end of the curved appendage is the feather of this bird. An exam¬ 
ination of b leads to the conclusion that the inner end of the spiral 
represents a bird’s head. Two eyes are represented therein, and from 
it feathers are appended. The parallel marks on the body are suggest¬ 
ive of similar decorations on the figure of the Plumed Snake painted 
on the kilts of the Snake priests of Walpi. The star emblems are con¬ 
stant accompaniments of bird designs. Figure c has, in addition to 
the spiral, the star symbols and what appears to be a flower. The de¬ 
sign shown iu d is so exceptional that it is here represented with the 
circular forms. It will be seen that there are well-marked feathers in 
its composition. Figure / is made up of several bird forms, feathers, 
rectangles, aud triangles, combined in a complicated design, the parts 
of which may readily be interpreted in the light of what has already 
been recorded. 

The significance of the spiral in the design on plate cli, a, is unknown. 
It is found in several pictures, in some of which it appears to have 
avian relationship. Figure b of the same plate is a square terraced 
design appended to the median line, on which symbolic stars are 
depicted. As in many bird figures, a star is found on the opposite 
semicircle. There is a remote likeness between this figure and that of 
the head of the bird shown in plate cxlv, d. Plate cli, c, is a compound 
figure, with four feathers arranged in two pairs at right angles to a 
median band. The triangular figure associated with them is sometimes 
found in symbols of the sun. Figure d is undoubtedly a bird sym¬ 
bol, as may be seen by a comparison of it with the bird figures shown 
in plate cxxxvm, ctr-f. There are two tail-feathers, two outstretched 
wings, and a head which is rectangular, with terraced designs. The 
cross is triple, and occupies the opposite segment, which is finely spat¬ 
tered with pigment. This trifid cross represents a game played by the 
Hopi with reeds aud is depicted on many objects of pottery. As repre¬ 
sentations of it sometimes accompany those of birds I am led to interpret 
the figure (plate clvii, c) as that of a bird, which it somewhat resem- 


BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 


SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT FL. CL 




FIGURES OF BIRDS AND FEATHERS FROM SIKYATKI 
















FIGURES OF BIRDS AND FEATHERS FROM SIKYATKI 


BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 


SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. CLI 


































FEWKES] 


BIRD AND FEATHER SYMBOLS 


697 


bles. The two designs shown in plate cli, e, /, are believed to be 
decorative, or, if symbolic, they have been so worn by the constant use 
of the vessel that it is impossible to determine their meaning by 
comparative methods. Both of these figures show the “line of life” in 
a somewhat better way thau auy yet considered. 

In plate clii, a, is shown a compound figure of doubtful significance, 
made up of a series of crescents, triangles, and spirals, which, in c, are 
more compactly joined together, and accompanied by three parallel 
lines crossing three other lines. The curved figure shown in b repre¬ 
sents three feathers; a large one on each side, inclosing a medially 
smaller member. In d is shown the spiral bird form with appended 
feathers, triangles, and terraced figures. Figure / of this plate is 
decorated with a design which bears many resemblances to a flower, 
the peripheral appendages resembling bracts of a sunflower. A some¬ 
what similar design is painted on the side of the helmets of some 
Tcatcina dancers, where the bracts or petals are colored in sequence, 
with the pigments corresponding to the six directions—north, west, 
south, east, above, and below. In the decoration on the ancient 
Sikyatki bowl we find seven peripheral bracts, one of which is speckled. 
The six groups of stameus(?) are represented between the triangular 
bracts. 

The designs shown in plates cliii to clv, inclusive, still preserve 
the spiral form with attached feathers, some of them being greatly 
conventionalized or differentiated. In the first of these plates (figure b) 
is represented a bird form with triangular head with four feathers 
arranged in fan shape. These feathers are different from any which 
I have been able to find attached to the bodies of birds, and are thus 
identified from morphological rather thau from other reasons. 

The body of the conventionalized bird is decorated with terraced 
figures, spirals, flowers, and other designs arranged in a highly compli¬ 
cated manner. From a bar connecting the spiral with the encircling 
line there arises a tuft of feathers. Figure a of the same plate is charac¬ 
terized by a medially placed triangle and a graceful pendant from 
which hangs seven feathers. In this instance these structures take the 
form of triangles and pairs of lines. The relation of these structures 
to feathers would appear highly speculative, but they have been so 
interpreted for the following reason: If we compare them with the 
appendages represented in the design on the vase shown in cxliii, b, 
we find them the same in number, form, and arrangement; the triangles 
in the design on this vase are directly comparable with the figures in 
plate cxliii, b, in the same position, which are undoubtedly feathers, as 
has been shown in the discussion of this figure. Consequently, although 
the triangles on the pendant in plate cliii, a , appear at first glance to 
have no relation to the prescribed feather symbol, morphology shows 
their true interpretation. The reduction of the wing feather to a simple 
triangular figure is likewise shown in several other pictures on food 



698 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


vessels, notably in the figure, undoubtedly of a bird, represented in 
plate cxlvi, a. 

In the two figures forming plate Cliv are found simple bird symbols 
and feather designs very much conventionalized. The same is true of 
the two figures given in plate clv. 

The vessels illustrated in plate clvi, a, b , are decorated with designs 
of unknown meaning, save that the latter recalls the modification of 
the feather into long triangular forms. On the outer surface this bowl 
has a row of tadpoles encircling it in a sinistral direction, or with the 
center of the bowl on the left. The design of figure c shows a bird’s 
head in profile, with a crest of feathers and with the two eyes on one 
side of the head and a necklace. The triangular figure bears the sym¬ 
bolism of the turkey feather, as at present designated in Tusayan altar 
paraphernalia. As with other bird figures, there is a representation in 
red of the triple star. 

Figure d is the only specimen of a vessel in the conventional form of 
a bird which was found at Sikyatki; it evidently formerly had a handle. 
The vessel itself is globular, and the form of the bird is intensified by 
the designs on its surface. The bird’s head is turned to the observer, 
and the row of triangles represent wing feathers. The signification of 
the designs on e and / is unknown to me. 

Figures e and / of plate clvi are avian decorations, reduced in the 
case of the former to geometric forms. The triangular figure is a 
marked feature in the latter design. 

The designs represented in plate clvii are aberrant bird forms. Of 
these a and b are the simplest and c one of the most complicated. 
Figure d is interpreted as a double bird, or twins with a common head 
and tails pointing in opposite directions. Figure e shows a bird in pro¬ 
file with oue wing, furnished with triangular feathers, extended. There 
is some doubt about the identification of/as a bird, but there is no 
question that the wing, tail, and breath feathers are represented in it. 
Of the last mentioned there are three, shown by the notch, colored 
black at their extremities. 


Vegetal Designs 

Inasmuch as they so readily lend themselves as a motive of decora¬ 
tion, it is remarkable that the ancient Hopi seem to have used plants 
and their various organs so sparingly in their pottery painting. Else¬ 
where, especially among modern Pueblos, this is not the case, and 
while plants, flowers, and leaves are not among the common designs 
on modern Tusayan ware, they are often employed. It would appear 
that the corn plant or fruit would be found among other designs, 
especially as corn plays a highly symbolic part in mythic conceptions, 
but we fail to find it used as a decoration on any ancient vessel. 

In a figure previously described, a flower, evidently an aster or sun¬ 
flower, appears with a butterfly, and in the bowl shown in plate 




BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 


SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. CLII 



FOOD BOWLS WITH BIRD, FEATHER, AND FLOWER SYMBOLS FROM SIKYATKI 











BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 


SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL.CL III 



FOOD BOWLS WITH FIGURES OF BIRDS AND FEATHERS FROM SIKYATKI 


















FEW'RES] 


VEGETAL AND SUN DESIGNS 


699 


cxxxiv. e, we have a similar design. This figure evidently represents 
the sunflower, the seeds of which were ground and eaten in ancient 
times. The plant apparently is represented as growing from the earth 
and is surrounded by a broad band of red in rudely circular form. 
The totem of the earth today among the Hopi is a circle; possibly it 
was the same among the ancients, in which case the horizon may have 
been represented by the red encircling band, which is accompanied by 
the crook and the emblem of rain. The petals are represented by a 
row of dots and no leaves are shown. From the kinship of the ancient 
accolents of Sikyatki with the Flute people, it is to be expected that 
in their designs figures of asters or sunflowers would appear, for these 
plants play a not inconspicuous role in the ritual of this society which 
has survived to modern times. 


The Sdn 

Sun worship plays a most important part in modern Tusayan ritual, 
and the symbol of the sun in modern pictography can not be mistaken 
for any other. It is a circle with radiating feathers on the periphery 
and ordinarily with four lines arranged in quaternary groups. The 
face of the sun is indicated by triangles on the forehead, two slits for 
eyes, and a double triangle for the mouth. This symbol, however, is 
not always used as that of the sun, for in the Oraibi Powalawu there 
is an altar in which a sand picture of the sun has the form of a four- 
pointed star. The former of these sun symbols is not found on Sik¬ 
yatki pottery, but there is one picture which closely resembles the latter. 
This occurs on the bowl illustrated in plate clxi, c. The main design 
is a four-pointed star, alternating with crosses and surrounded by a 
zone in which are rectangular blocks. While the identification may 
be fanciful, its resemblauces are highly suggestive. The existence of a 
double triangle adjacent to this figure on the same bowl, and its like¬ 
ness to the modern mouth-design of sun pictures, appears to be more 
than a coincidence, and is so regarded in this identification. 

In the design shown in plate clviii, a, one of the elaborate ancient 
sun figures is represented. As in modern symbols, the tail-feathers of 
the periphery of the disk are arranged in the four quadrants, and in 
addition there are appended to the same points curved figures which 
recall the objects, identified as stringed feathers, attached to the blan¬ 
ket of the maid (plate cxxix, a). The design on the disk is different 
from that of any sun emblem known to me, and escapes my interpreta¬ 
tion. I have used the distribution of the feathers on the four quad¬ 
rants as an indication that this figure is a sun symbol, although it 
must be confessed this evidence is not so strong as might be wished. 
The triangles at the sides of two feathers indicate that a tail-feather is 
intended, and for the correlated facts supporting this conclusion the 
reader is referred to the description of the vessels shown in plate 
cxxxvm. 


700 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


It would appear tliat there is even more probability that the picture 
on the bowl illustrated in plate clviii, b, is a sun symbol. It repre¬ 
sents a disk with tail and wing feathers arranged on the periphery in 
four groups. This recalls the suu emblems used in Tusayan at the 
present time, although the face of the suu is not represented on this 
specimen. There is a still closer approximation to the modern symbol 
of the sun on a bowl in a private collection from Sikyatki. 

In plate clviii, c, the sun’s disk is represented with the four clusters 
of feathers replaced by the extremities of the bodies of four birds, the 
tail feathers, for some unknowD reasou, being omitted. The design 
on the disk is highly symbolic, aud the only modern sun symbol found 
in it are the triangles, which form the mouth of the face of the sun in 
modern Hopi symbolism. 

One of the most aberrant pictures of the sun, which I think can be 
identified with probability, is shown in the design on the specimen 
illustrated in plate cxxxiv, b. The reasons which have led me to this 
identification may briefly be stated as follows: 

Among the many supernaturals with which modern Hopi mythology 
is replete is one called Calako taka, or the male Calako. In legends 
he is the husband of the two Corn-maids of like name. The ceremo¬ 
nials connected with this being occur in Sichomovi in July, when four 
giant personifications enter the village as have been described in a for¬ 
mer memoir. The heads of these giants are provided with two curved 
horns, between which is a crest of eagle tail-featliers. 

Two of these giants, under another name, but with the same symbol¬ 
ism, are depicted on the altars of the katcinas at Walpi aud Mishoui- 
novi, where they represent the sun. A chief personifying the same 
supernatural flogs children when they are initiated into the knowledge 
of the katcinas. 

The figure on the bowl under discussion has many points of resem¬ 
blance to the symbolism of this personage as depicted on the altars 
mentioned. The head has two horns, one on each side, with a crest, 
apparently of feathers, between them.* The eyes aud mouth are repre¬ 
sented, and on the body there is a four-pointed cross. The mean¬ 
ing of the remaining appendages is unknown, but the likenesses to 
Calako-taka 1 symbolism are noteworthy aud important. The figure on 
the food bowl illustrated in plate cxxxiv, c, is likewise regarded as 
a sun emblem. The disk is represented by a ring in the center, to which 
feathers are appended. The triangle, which is still a sun symbol, is 
shown below a band across the bowl. This baud is decorated with 
highly conventionalized feathers. 


'In this connection the reader is referred to the story, already told in former pages of this memoir, 
concerning the flogging of the youth by the husband of the two women who brought the Hopi the 
seeds of corn. It may be mentionedas corroboratory evidence that Calako-takarepresentsasupernatu- 
ral sun-bird, that the Tataukyamfi priests carry a shield with Tunwup (Calako-taka) upon it in the 
Soyaluna. These priests, as shown by the etymology of their name, are associated with the sun. In 
the Sun drama, or Calako ceremony, in July, Calako-takas are personated, and at Zuni the Shalako 
is a great winter sun ceremony. 



BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 


SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. CLIV 



FOOD BOWLS WITH 


FIGURES OF BIRDS AND FEATHERS FROM SI KYAT KI 
















BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 


SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. C LV 



POOD BOWLS WITH FIGURES OF BIRDS AND FEATHERS FROM SI KYAT KI 












BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 


SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. CLVI 



FOOD BOWLS WITH FIGURES OF BIRDS AND FEATHERS FROM SIKYATKI 










fewkes] SUN SYMBOLS AND GEOMETRIC FIGURES 701 

It may be added that in this figure we have probably the most aber¬ 
rant sun-symbol yet recognized, and on that account there is a possi¬ 
bility that the validity of my identification is more or less doubtful. 

The three designs shown in plate Clviii, c, d, e, evidently belong in 
association with sun or star symbols, but it is hardly legitimate to 
definitely declare that such an interpretation can be demonstrated. 
The modern Tusayan Indians declare that the equal-arm cross is a 
symbol of the “ Heart of the Sky” god, which, from my studies of the 
effigies of this personage on various altars, I have good reason to 
identify with the lightning. 

Geometric Figures 

INTERPRETATION OF THE FIGURES 

Most of the pottery from Sikyatki is ornamented with geometric 
designs and linear figures, the import of many of which are unknown. 

Two extreme views are current in regard to the significance of these 
designs. To one school everything is symbolic of something or some 
religious conception; to the other the majority are meauiugless save as 
decorations. I find the middle path the more conservative, and while 
regarding many of the designs as highly conventionalized symbols, 
believe that there are also many where the decorator had no thought 
of symbolism. I have ventured an explanation of a few of the former. 

Terraced figures are among the most common rectangular elements in 
Pueblo ceramic decorations. These desigus bear so close a likeness to 
the modern rain cloud symbol that they probably may all be referred 
to this category. Their arrangement on a bowl or jar is often of such 
a nature as to impart very different patterns. Thus terraced figures 
placed in opposition to each other may leave zigzag spaces suggesting 
lightning, but such forms can hardly be regarded as designed for 
symbols. 

Rectangular patterns (plates clxii-clxv) are more ancient in the 
evolution of designs on Tusayan pottery than curved geometric figures, 
and far outnumber them in the most ancient specimens; but there has 
been no epoch in the development reaching to modern times when they 
have been superseded. While there are many specimens of Sikyatki 
pottery of the type decorated with geometric figures, which hear orna¬ 
mentations of simple and complex terraced forms, the majority placed in 
this type are not reducible to stepped or terraced desigus, but are 
modified straight lines, bars, crosshatching, and the like. In older 
Pueblo pottery the relative proportion of terraced figures is even less, 
which would appear to indicate that basket-ware patterns were 
secondary rather than primary decorative forms. 

By far the largest element in ancient Tusayan pottery decoration 
must be regarded as simple geometric lines, triangles, spirals, curves, 
crosshatching, and the like, some of which are no doubt symbolic, 


702 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


others purely decorative (plate clxvi). In the evolution of design I 
am inclined to believe that this was the simplest form, and 1 find it the 
most constant in the oldest ware. Rectangular figures are regarded as 
older than circular figures, and they possibly preceded the latter in 
evolution, but in many instances both are forms of reversion, highly 
conventionalized representations of more elaborate figures. Circles 
and crosses are sometimes combined, the former modified into a wavy 
line surrounding the latter, as in plate clix, c, d, where there is a sug¬ 
gestion {d) of a sun emblem. 

CROSSES 

A large number of food bowls are decorated with simple or elaborate 
crosses, stars, and like patterns. Simple crosses with arms of equal 
length appear on the vessels shown in plate clix, c, d. There are 
many similar crosses, subordinate to the main design, in various bowls, 
especially those decorated with figures of birds and sky deities. 

Plate clx, a, exhibits a cruciform design, to the extremities of three 
arms of which bird figui’es are attached. In this design there are like¬ 
wise two sunflower symbols. The modified cross figure in b of the 
same plate, like that just mentioned, suggests a swastica, but fails to 
be one, and unless the complicated design in figure c may be so inter¬ 
preted, no swastica was found at Sikyatki or Awatobi. Plate clx, d, 
shows another form of cross, two arms of which are modified into 
triangles. 

On the opening of the great ceremony called Powamu or “ Bean- 
planting,” which occurs in February in the modern Tusayan villages, 
there occurs a ceremony about a sand picture of the sun which is 
called Powalawu. The object of this rite is the fructification of all 
seeds known to the Hopi. The sand picture of the sun which is made 
at that time is in its essentials identical with the design on the food 
bowl illustrated in plate clxi, c; consequently it is possible that this 
star emblem represents the sun, and the occurrence of the eight trian¬ 
gles in the rim, replaced in the modern altar by four concentric bands 
of differently colored sands, adds weight to this conclusion. The twin 
triangles outside the main figure are identical with those in the mouth 
of modern sun emblems. These same twin triangles are arranged in 
lines which cross at right angles in plate clxi, d, but from their resem¬ 
blance to figure b they possibly have a different meaning. 

The most complicated of all the star-shape figures, like the simplest, 
takes us to sun emblems, and it seems probable that there is a rela¬ 
tionship between the two. Plate clxi, /. represents four bundles of 
feathers arranged in quadrants about a rectangular center. These 
feathers vary in form and arrangement, and the angles between them 
are occupied by horn-shape bodies, two of which have highly compli¬ 
cated extremities recalling conventionalized birds. 

A large number of crosses are respresented in plate clxii, d, in which 
the remaining semicircle is filled with a tessellated pattern. A spiral 


bureau of American ethnology 


seventeenth annual report pl. 




b 



FIGURES OF BIRDS AND FEATHERS FROM SIKYATKI 
























BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 


SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. CLVIII 




mm 


if"' 

§yj 

fyl 

l 

~ fl 









FOOD BOWLS WITH FIGURES OF SUN AND RELATED SYMBOLS 

FROM SIKYATKI 


























fewkes] CROSSES, TERRACED FIGURES, AND CROOKS 703 

liue with round spots at intervals adorns the specimen shown in plate 
Clxi, a. Parallel lines with similar spots appear on the vessel illus¬ 
trated in plate clxii, e , and a network of the same is shown in f of the 
same plate. Plate clxvii, b , represents a compound star. 

\\ liile simple swasticas are not found on any of the Sikyatki pottery, 
modified and compound forms are well represented. There are several 
specimens of figures of the Maltese cross, and one closely approximat¬ 
ing the Saint Andrew’s cross. It is scarcely necessary to say that the 
presence of the various kinds of crosses do not necessarily indicate the 
influence of Semitic or Aryan races, for I have already shown 1 that 
even cross-shape prayer-sticks were in use among the Pueblos when 
Coronado first visited them. 

TERRACED FIGURES 

Among the most common of all geometric designs on ancient Tusayan 
pottery none excel in variety or number those which I place in the 
above group. They form the major part of all decoration, and there is 
hardly a score of ornamented vessels in which they can not be detected. 
In a typical form they appear as stepped designs, rectangular figures 
with diagonals continuous, or as triangular designs with steps repre¬ 
sented along their sides. 

While it is probable that in some instances these figures are simply 
decorative, with no attempt at symbolism, in other cases without doubt 
they symbolize rain-clouds, and the same figures are still used with sim¬ 
ilar intent in modern ceremonial paraphernalia—altars, mask-tablets, 
and the like. Decorative modifications of this figure were no doubt 
adopted by artistic potters, thus giving varieties where the essential 
meaning has been much obscured or lost. 

THE CROOK 

Among the forms of geometric designs on ancient Tusayan pottery 
there are many jars, bowls, and other objects on which a crook, vari¬ 
ously modified, is the essential type. This figure is so constant that it 
must have had a symbolic as well as a decorative meaning. The crook 
plays an important part in the modern ritual, and is prominent on 
many Tusayan altars. Around the sand picture of the rain-cloud, for 
example, we find a row of wooden rods with curved ends, and in the 
public Snake dance these are carried by participants called the Ante¬ 
lopes. A crook in the form of a staff to which an ear of corn and sev¬ 
eral feathers are attached is borne by katcinas or masked participants 
in certain rain dances. It is held in the hand by a personage who flogs 
the children when they are initiated into certain religious societies. 
Many other instances might be mentioned in which this crozier-like 

' American Anthropologut, April, 1895, p. 133. As these cross-shape pahos which are now made in 
Tusayan are attributed to the Kawaika or Keres group of Indians, and as they were seen at the Ker- 
esan pueblo of Acoma in 1540, it is probable that they are derivative among the Hopi; hut simple cross 
decorations on ancient pottery were probably autochthonous. 









704 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[BTH. ANN. 17 


object is carried by important personages. While it is not entirely 
clear to me that in all instances this crook is a badge of authority, in 
some cases it undoubtedly represents the standing of the bearer. 
There are, likewise, prayer offerings in the form of crooks, and even 
common forms of prayer-sticks have miniature curved sticks attached 
to them. 

Some of the warrior societies are said to make offerings in the form 
of a crook, and a stick of similar form is associated with the gods of 
war. There is little doubt that some of the crook-form decorations on 
ancient vessels may have been used as symbols with the same intent as 
the sticks referred to above. The majority of the figures of this shape 
elude interpretation. Many of them have probably no definite mean¬ 
ing, but are simply an effective motive of decoration. 

Ip some instances the figure of the crook on old pottery is a symbol 
of a prayer offering of a warrior society, made in the form of an 
ancient weapon, allied to a bow. 

THE GERMINATIVE SYMBOL 

The ordinary symbol of germination, a median projection with lateral 
extensions at the base (plate cxlix, e ), occurs among the figures on this 
ancient pottery. In its simplest form, a median line with a triangle on 
each side attached to one end, it is a phallic emblem. When this median 
line becomes oval, and the triangles elongated and curved at the ends, 
it represents the ordinary squash symbol,' also used as an emblem of 
fertility. 

The triangle is also an emblem of germination and of fecundity—the 
female, as the previously mentioned principle represents the male. The 
geometric designs-on the ancient Sikyatki ware abundantly illustrate 
both these forms. 

BROKEN LINES 

In examining the simple encircling bands of many of the food bowls, 
jars, and other ceramic objects, it will be noticed that they are not 
continuous, but that there is a break at one point, and this break is 
usually limited to one point in all the specimens. Various explana¬ 
tions of the meaning of this failure to complete the band have been 
suggested, and it is a remarkable fact that it is one of the most widely 
extended characteristics of ancient pottery decoration in the whole 
Fueblo area, including the Salado and Gila basins. While in the 
specimens from Sikyatki the break is simple and confined to one 
point, in those from other regions we find two or three similar failures 
in the continuity of encircling lines, and in some instances the lines at 
the point of separation are modified into spirals, terraces, and other 
forms of geometric figures. In the more complex figures we find the 

1 In dolls of the Corn-maids this germinative symbol is often found made of wood and mounted on 
an elaborate tablet representing rain clouds. 




BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 


SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. CLIX 



CROSS AND RELATED DESIGNS FROM SIKYATKI 




















BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 


SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. CLX 



CROSS AND OTHER SYMBOLS FROM SIKYATKI 

























































BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 


SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. CLXI 



STAR, SUN, AND RELATED SYMBOLS FROM SIKYATKI 














FEWKES] 


BROKEN LINES IN POTTERY DECORATION 


705 


most intricate variations, which depart so widely from the simple forms 
that their resemblances are somewhat difficult to follow. A brief con¬ 
sideration of these modifications may aid toward an understanding of 
the character of certain geometric ornamental motives. 

If any of the interlocking spirals on bowls or vases are traced, it 
is found that they do not join at the center of the figure. The same 
is true when these spirals become frets. There is always a break in 
the network which they form. This break is comparable with the 
"hiatus on encircling bauds and probably admits of the same interpreta¬ 
tion. In a simple form this motive appears as two crescents or two 
key patterns with the ends overlapping. This simple ornament, called 
the friendship sign, is commonly used in the decoration of the bodies 
of katcinas , and has been likened to the interlocking of fingers or 
hands of the participants in certain dances, the fingers half retracted 
with inner surfaces approximated, the palms of the bauds facing in 
opposite directions and the wrists at opposite points. If the points be 
extended into an elaborate key pattern or curved into extended spirals, 
a complicated figure is produced in which the separation is less con¬ 
spicuous although always present. 

The same points may be modified into terraced figures, the separa¬ 
tion then appearing as a zigzag line drawn across the figure, or they 
may have interlocking dentate or serrate prolongations imparting a 
variety of forms to the interval between them. 1 In order to trace out 
these modifications it would be necessary to specify each individual 
case, but I think that is unnecessary. In other words, the broken line 
appears to be a characteristic not only of simple encircling bands, but 
also of all geometric figures in which highly complicated designs extend 
about the periphery of a utensil. 

Decorations on the Exterior of Food Bowls 

The decorations on the exterior of the ancient food bowls are in most 
instances very characteristic and sometimes artistic. Generally they 
reproduce patterns which are found on the outside of vases and jars 
and sometimes have a distant relationship to the designs in the interior 
of the bowl upon which they occur. Usually these external decora¬ 
tions are found only on one side, and in that respect they differ from the 
modern food bowls, in which nothing similar to them appears. 

The characteristics of the external decorations of food bowls are sym¬ 
bolic, mostly geometric, square or rectangular, triangular or stepped 

'Many similarities might be mentioned between the terraced figures used in decoration in Old 
Mexico and in ancient Tnsayan pottery, but I will refer to but a single instance, that of the stuccoed 
walls of Mitla, Oaxaca, and Teotitlan del Valle. .Many designs from these ruins are gathered together 
for comparative purposes by that eminent Mexicanist, Ur E. Seler, in his beautiful memoir on 
Mitla (Wandmalereien von Mitla, plate x). In this plate exact counterparts of many geometric 
patterns on Sikyatki pottery appear, and even the broken spiral is beautifully represented. There 
are key patterns and terraced figures in stucco on monuments of Central America identical wHh the 
figures on pottery from Sikyatki. 

17 ETH, PT 2-16 








706 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


figures; curved lines and spirals rarely if ever occur, and human or 
animal figures are unknown in this position in Sityatki pottery; the 
geometric figures can be reduced to a few patterns of marked simplicity. 

It is apparent that I can best discuss the variety of geometric designs 
by considering these external decorations of food vessels at length. 

From the fact that they are limited to one side, the 
design is less complicated by repetition and seems 
practically the same as the more typical forms. It 
is rarely that two of these designs are found to be 
exactly the same, and as there appears to be no dupli¬ 
cation a classification of them is difficult. Each pot¬ 
ter seems to have decorated her ware without regard 
to the work of her contemporaries, using simple de¬ 
signs but combining them in original ways. Hence the 
Fi°. 277 oblique par- „ reat variety found even in the grave of the same 
woman, whose handiwork was buried with her. As, 
however, the art of the potter degenerated, as it has in later times, the 
patterns became more alike, so that modern Tusayan decorated earthen¬ 
ware has little variety in ornamentation and no originality in design. 
Every potter uses the same figures. 




Fig. 278—Parallel lines fused at one point 


The simplest form of decoratiou on the exterior of a food bowl is a 
band encircling it. This line may be complete or it may be broken at 
one point. The next more complicated geometric decoration is a double 
or multiple band, which, however, does not occur in any of the speci¬ 
mens from Sikyatki. The breaking up of this multiple baud into parallel 
bars is shown in figure 277. These bars generally have a quadruple 



Fig. 279—Parallel lines with zigzag arrangement 


arrangement, and are horizontal, vertical, or, as in the illustration, in¬ 
clined at an angle. They are often found on the lips of the bowls and 
in a similar position on jars, dippers, and vases. The parallel lines 
shown in figure 278 are seven in number, and do not encircle the bowl. 
They are joined by a broad connecting band near one extremity. The 
number of parallel bands in this decoratiou is highly suggestive. 






























SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. CLXII 


BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 


GEOMETRIC ORNAMENTATION FROM SIKYATKI 








































FEWKES] 


POOD-BOWL DECORATIONS 


707 


Four parallel bands encircle the bowl shown in figure 279, but they 
are so modified in their course as to form a number of trapezoidal 
figures placed with alternating sides parallel. This inter¬ 
esting pattern is fouud only on one vessel. 

The use of simple parallel bars, arranged at equal inter¬ 
vals on the outside of food bowls, is not confined to these 
vessels, for they occur on the margin of vases, cups, and 
dippers. They likewise occur on ladle handles, where they 
are arranged in alternate transverse and longitudinal 
clusters. 

The combination of two vertical bands connected by a 



Fig. 280—Paral¬ 
lel lines connect¬ 
ed by middle bar 


horizontal band, forming the letter H 5 is an ornamental design frequently 
occurring on the finest Hopi ware. Figure 280 shows such an H form, 
which is ordinarily repeated four times about the bowl. 

The interval between the parallel bands around the vessel may be 



Fig. 281—Parallel lines of different width; serrate margin 


very much reduced in size, and some of the bands may be of different 
width or otherwise modified. Such a deviation is seen in figure 281, 
which has three bands, one of which is broad with straight edges, the 
other with serrate margin and hook-like appendages. 



Fig. 282—Parallel lines of different width; median serrate 


In figure 282 eight bands are shown, the marginal broad with edges 
entire, and the median pair serrated, the long teeth fitting each other 
in such a way as to impart a zigzag effect to the space which separates 
them. The remaining four lines, two on each side, appear as black 




< 


♦ ♦ ♦ ^ ♦ 




Fig. 283—Parallel lines of different width; marginal serrate 


bands on a white ground. It will be noticed that an attempt was made 
to relieve the monotony of the middle band of figure 282 by the intro¬ 
duction of a white line in zigzag form. A similar result was accom¬ 
plished in the design shown in figure 283 by rectangles and dots. 


















708 EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 [eth.ann.17 

The modification of the multiple bands in figure 283 has produced a 
very different decorative form. This design is composed of five bands, 
the marginal on each side serrate, and the middle baud relatively very 
broad, with diagonals, each containing four round dots regularly 



Fig. 284—Parallel lines and triangles 

arranged. In figure 284 there are many parallel, noncontinuous bands 
of different breadth, arranged in groups separated by triangles with 
sides parallel, and the whole united by bounding lines. This is the 
most complicated form of design where straight lines only are used. 

A A A AAA 
TrTTTr 

Fig. 285—Line with alternate triangles 

We nave thus far considered modifications brought about by fusion 
and other changes in simple parallel lines. They may be confined to 
one side of the food bowl, may repeat each other at intervals, or sur¬ 
round the whole vessel. Ordinarily, however, they are confined to one 
side of the bowls from Sikyatki. 



Fig. 286—Single line with alternate spurs 


Returning to the single encircling band, it is found, in figure 285, 
broken up into alternating equilateral triangles, each pair united at 
their right angles. This modification is carried still further in figure 
286, where the triangles on each side of the single line are prolonged 



Fig. 287—Single line with hourglass figures 


into oblique spurs, the pairs separated a short distance from each 
other. In figure 287 there is shown still another arrangement of these 
triangular decorations, the pairs forming hourglass-shape figures con¬ 
nected by an encircling line passing through their points of junction. 
























BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 


SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. CLXIII 



FOOD BOWLS WITH GEOMETRIC ORNAMENTATION FROM SIKYATKI 














FEWKES] 


FOOD-BOWL DECORATIONS 


709 


In figure 288 the double triangles, one on each side of the encircling 
band, are so placed that their line of separation is lost, and a single 
triangle replaces the pair. These are counected by the line surrounding 



Fig. 288—Single lines with triangles 


the bowl and there is a dot at the smallest angle. In figure 289 there 
is a similar design, except that alternating with each triangle, which 
bears more decoration than that shown in figure 288, there are hour- 

- 

Fig. 289—Single line with alternate triangles and ovals 

glass figures composed of ovals and triangles. The dots at the apex 
of that design are replaced by short parallel lines of varying width. 
The triangles and ovals last considered are arranged symmetrically in 



Fig. 290—Triangles and quadrilaterals 


relation to a simple band. By a reduction in the intervening spaces 
these triangles may be brought together and the line disappears. I 
have found no specimen of design illustrating the simplest form of the 



Fig. 291—Triangle with spurs 


resultant motive, but that shown in figure 290 is a new combination 
comparable with it. 

The simple triangular decorative design reaches a high degree of 



Fig. 292—Rectangle with single line 


complication in figure 290, where a connecting line is absent, and two 
triangles having their smallest angles facing each other are separated 


















710 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


by a lozenge shape figure made up of many parallel lines placed ob¬ 
liquely to the axis of the design. The central part is composed of seven 
parallel lines, the marginal of which, on two opposite sides, is minutely 
dentate. The median baud is very broad and is relieved by two wavy 
white lines. The axis of the design on each side is continued into two 
triangular spurs, rising from a rectangle in the middle of each triangle. 



Fio. 293—Double triangle; multiple lines 


This complicated design is the highest development reached by the use 
of simple triaugles. In figure 291, however, we have a simpler form of 
triangular decoration, in which no element other than the rectangle is 
employed. In the chaste decoration seen in figure 292 the use of the 
rectangle is shown combined with the triangle on a simple encircling 



Fio. 294—Double triangle; terraced edges 


band. This design is reducible to that shown in figure 290, but is simpler, 
yet not less effective. In figure 293 there is an aberrant form of design 
in which the triangle is used in combination with parallel and oblique 
bands. This form, while one of the simplest in its elements, is effective 
and characteristic. The triangle predominates in figure 294, but the 


Fio. 295—Single line; closed fret 

details are worked out in rectangular patterns, producing the terraced 
designs so common in all Pueblo decorations. Rectangular figures 
are more commonly used than the triangular in the decoration of the 
exterior of the bowls, and their many combinations are often very 
perplexing to analyze. 



















BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 


SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT 


PL. CLXIV 



FOOD BOWLS WITH GEOMETRIC ORNAMENTATION FROM SIKYATKI 

















FEWKES] 


FOOD-BOWL DECORATIONS 


711 


In figure 295, starting with the simple encircling band, it is found 
divided into alternating rectangles. The line is continuous, and hence 
one side of each rectangle is not complete. Both this design and its 



Fig. 296 — Single line; open fret 


modification in figure 296 consist of an unbroken line of equal breadth 
throughout. In the latter figure, however, the openings in the sides 
are larger or the approach to a straight line closer. The forms are 



Fig. 297— Single line; broken fret 


strictly rectangular, with no additional elements. Figure 297 intro¬ 
duces an important modification of the rectangular motive, consisting 



Fig. 298—Single line; parts displaced 


of a succession of lines broken at intervals, but when joined are always 
arranged at right angles. 

Possibly the least complex form of rectangular ornamentation, next 



Fig. 299— Open fret; attachment displaced 


to a simple bar or square, is the combination shown in figure 298, a type 
in which many changes are made in interior as well as in exterior deco¬ 
rations of Pueblo ware. One of these is shown in figure 299, where the 



Fig. 300—Simple rectangular design 


figure about the vessel is continuous. An analysis of the elements in 
figure 300 shows squares united at their angles, like the last, but that 
in addition to parallel bands connecting adjacent figures theie are two 

























712 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


marginal lines uniting the series. Each of the inner parallel lines is 
bound to a marginal on the opposite side by a band at right angles to 
it. The marginal lines are unbroken through the length of the figure. 



Fig. 301—Rectangular reversed S-form 


Like the last, this motive also may be regarded as developed from a 
single line. 

Figures 301 and 302 are even simpler than the design shown in figure 



Fig. 302—Rectangular S-form with crooks 


300, with appended square key patterns, all preserving rectangular 
forms and destitute of all others. They are of S-form, and differ more 
especially in the character of their appendages. 



Fig. 303—Rectangular S-form with triangles 


While the same rectangular idea predominates in figure 303, it is 
worked out with the introduction of triangles and quadrilateral designs. 
This fairly compound pattern, however, is still classified among rectan¬ 
gular forms. A combination of rectangular and triangular geometric 



Fig. 304—Rectangular S-form with terraced triangles 


designs, in which, however, the former predominate, is shown in figure 
304, which can readily be reduced to certain of those forms already men¬ 
tioned. The triangles appear to be subordinated to the rectangles, and 
even they are fringed ou their longer sides with terraced forms. It may 






FOOD-BOWL DECORATIONS 


EEWKES] 


713 


be said that there are but two elements involved, the rectangle and the 
triangle. 

The decoration in figure 305 consists of rectangular and triangular 
figures, the latter so closely approximated as to leave zigzag lines in 



white. These liues are simply highly modified breaks in bands which 
join in other designs, and lead by comparison to the so-called “line of 
life” which many of these figures illustrate. 



V 


Pig. 306—Square with rectangles and parallel lines 

The distinctive feature of figure 300 is the square, with rectangular 
designs appended to diagonally opposite angles and small triangles at 
intermediate corners. These designs have a distant resemblance to 



Fig. 3u7—Rectangles, triangles, stars, and feathers 


figures later referred to as highly conventionalized birds, although 
they may be merely simple geometrical patterns which have lost their 
symbolic meaning. 



Fio. 308—Crook, feathers, and parallel lines 


Figure 307 shows a complicated design, introducing at least two 
elements in addition to rectangles and triangles. One of these is a 
































714 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


curved crook etched on a black ground. In no other exterior decora¬ 
tion have curved lines been found except in the form of circles, and it 
is worthy of note how large a proportion of the figures are drawn in 
straight lines. The circular figures with three parallel lines extending 
from them are found so constantly in exterior decorations, and are so 
strikingly like some of the figures elsewhere discussed, that I have ven¬ 
tured a suggestion in regard to their meaning. I believe they represent 



Fig. 309—Crooks and feathers 


feathers, because the tail-feathers of certain birds are symbolized in 
that manner, and their number corresponds with those generally 
depicted in the highly conventionalized tails of birds. With this 
thought in mind, it may be interesting to compare the two projections, 
one on each side of the three tail-feathers of this figure, with the 
extremity of the body of a bird shown in plate cxli, e .. On the supposi- 



Fig. 310—Rectangle, triangles, and feathers 


tion that a bird figure was intended in this design, it is interesting also 
to note the rectangular decorations of the body and the association with 
stars made of three blocks in several bird figures, as already described. 
It is instructive also to note the fact that the figure of a maid repre¬ 
sented in plate oxxix, n, has two of the round designs with appended 
parallel lines hanging to her garment, and four parallel marks drawn 



Fig. 311—Terraced crook, triangle, and feathers 


from her blanket. It is still customary in Hopi ceremonials to tie 
feathers to the garments of those who personate certain mythic beings, 
and it is possible that such was also the custom at Sikyatki. If so, it 
affords additional evidence that the parallel lines are representations of 
feathers. 

In figure 308 a number of these parallel lines are represented, and 
the general character of the design is rectangular. In figure 309 is 



















BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 


SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. CLXV 

















































































FEW KBS] 


FOOD-BOWL DECORATIONS 


715 


shown a combination of rectangular and triangular figures with three 
tapering points and circles with lines at their tips radiating instead of 
parallel. Another modification is shown in figure 310 in which the 



triangle predominates, and figure 311 evidently represents one-half of 
a similar device with modifications. 

One of the most common designs on ancient pottery is the stepped 



Fig. 313— 1 Triangular terrace 


figure, a rectangular ornamentation, modifications of which are shown 
in figures 312-314. This is a very common design on the interior of 
food vessels, where it is commonly interpreted as a rain-cloud symbol. 
Of all patterns on ancient Tusayan ware, that of the terrace figures 



Fig. 314—Crook, serrate end 


most closely resemble the geometrical ornamentation of cliff-house pot¬ 
tery, and there seems every reason to suppose that this form ot design 
admits of a like interpretation. The evolution of this pattern from 
plaited basketry has been ably discussed by Holmes and Nordenskiold, 














716 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


whose works have already been quoted in this memoir. The terraced 
forms from the exterior of food bowls here considered are highly 
aberrent; they may be forms of survivals, motives of decoration which 
have persisted from very early times. Whatever the origin of the 
stepped figure in Pueblo art was, it is well to remember, as shown by 



Flo. 315—Key pattern; rectangle and triangles 


Holmes, that it is “impossible to show that any particular design of the 
highly constituted kind was desired through a certain identifiable series 
of progressive steps.” 

For some unknown reason the majority of the simple designs on the 



Fig. 316—Rectangle and crook 


exterior of food bowls from Tusayan are rectangular, triangular, or 
linear in their character. Many can be reduced to simple or multiple 
lines. Others were suggested by plaited ware. 

In figure 312 is found one of the simplest of rectangular designs, a 



simple band, key pattern in form, at one end, with a reentrant square 
depression at the opposite extremity. In figure 313 is an equally 
simple terrace pattern with stepped figures at the ends and in the 
middle. These forms are common decorative elements on the exterior 
of jars and vases, where they occur in many combinations, all of which 







FEWKES] 


FOOD-BOWL DECORATIONS 


717 


are reducible to these types. The simplest form of the key pattern is 
shown iu figure 314, and iu figure 315 there is a second modification 
of the same design a little more complicated. This becomes somewhat 
changed in figure 31G, not only by the modifications of the two extremi¬ 
ties, but also by the addition of a median geometric tigui e. 



Fig. 318—Rectangle, triangle, and serrate spurs 


The design in figure 317 is rectangular, showing a key pattern at one 
end, with two long feathers at the opposite extremity. The five bodies 
on the same end of the figure are unique and comparable with conven¬ 
tionalized star emblems. The series of designs in the upper left-hand 
end of this figure are unlike any which have yet been found on the 



Fig. 319—W-pattern; terminal crooks 


exterior of food bowls, but are similar to designs which have elsewhere 
been interpreted as feathers. On the hypothesis that these two parts 
of the figure are tail-feathers, we find in the crook the analogue of the 
head of a bird. Thus the designs oil the equator of the vase (plate 
cxlv, a), which are birds, have the same crook for the head, and two 



simple tail-feathers, rudely drawn but comparable with the two in figure 
317. The five dentate bodies on the lower left-hand end of the figure 
also tell in favor of the avian character of the design, for the following 
reason: These bodies are often found accompanying figures of conven¬ 
tionalized birds (plates CXLiv, cliv, and others). They are regarded 
as modified crosses of equal arms, which are all but universally present 
in combinations with birds and feathers (plates cxliv, u, b ; CLiv,«), fiom 








718 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


the fact that iu a line of crosses depicted on a bowl one of the crosses 
is replaced by a design of similar character. The arms of the cross are 
represented; their intersection is left in white. The interpretation of 
figure 317 as a highly conventionalized bird design is also in accord 
with the same interpretation of a number of similar, although less com¬ 
plicated, figures which appear with crosses. Thus the three arms of 
plate clx, n, have highly conventionalized bird symbols attached to 
their extremities. In the cross figure shown in plate clyiii, <7, we find 
four bird figures with short, stumpy tail-feathers. These highly cou- 



Fig. 321—W-pattern; terminal terraces and crooks. 


ventionalized birds, with the head in the form of a crook and the tail- 
feathers as parallel lines, are illustrated on many pottery objects, 
nowhere better, however, than iu those shown in plates cxxvi, a , and 
clx, e. Figure 318 may be compared with figure 317. 

Numerous modifications of a key pattern, often assuming a double 
triangular form, but with rectangular elements, are found on the exte¬ 
rior of many food bowls. These are variations of a pattern the sim¬ 
plest form of which is shown in figure 319. Resolving this figure into 



Fig. 322—W pattern; terminal spurs 


two parts by drawing a median line, we find the arrangement is bilat¬ 
erally symmetrical, the two sides exactly corresponding. Each side 
consists of a simple key pattern with the shank inclined to the rim of 
the bowl and a bird emblem at its junction with the other member. 

In figure 320 there is a greater development of this pattern by an 
elaboration of the key, which is continued in a line resembling a 
square spiral. There are also dentations on a section of the edge of 
the liues. 








BUREAU Of AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 


SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. CLXVl 










LINEAR FIGURES ON FOOD BOWLS FROM SIKYATKI 











FEWKES] 


FOOD-HOWL DECORATIONS 


719 


In figure 321 there is a still further development of the same design 
and a lack of symmetry on the two sides. The square spirals are 
replaced on the left by three stepped figures, and white spaces with 
parallel lines are introduced in the arms of a W-shape figure. 

In figure 3—5 the same design is again somewhat changed by modifi¬ 
cation of the spirals into three triangles rimmed on one side with a 



Fig. 323—W -pattern; bird form 


row of dots, which are also found on the outer lines surrounding the 
lower part of the design. 

In figure 323 the same W shape design is preserved, but the space 
in the lower reentrant angle is occupied by a symmetrical figure 
resembling two tail-feathers and the extremity of the body of a bird. 
When this figure is compared with the design on plate cxi/vi, «, resem¬ 
blances are found in the two lateral appendages or wings. The star 
emblem is also present in the design. The median figure in that design 
which I have compared to the tail of a bird is replaced in figure 324 by 



Fig. 324—W-pattern; median triangle 


a triangular ornament. The two wings are not symmetrical, but no 
new decorative element is introduced. It, however, will be noticed that 
there is a want of symmetry on the two sides of a vertical line in the 
figure last mentioned The right hand upper side is continued into 
five pointed projections, which fail on the left-hand side. There is like¬ 
wise a difference in the arrangement of the terraced figures in the two 
parts. The sides of the median triangles are formed of alternating black 













720 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


and white blocks, and the quadrate figure which it incloses is etched 
with a diagonal and cross. 

The decoration in figure 325 consists of two triangles side by side, 



Fig. 325—Double triangle; two breath feathers 


each having marginal serrations, and a median square key pattern. 
One side of these triangles is continued into a line from which hang 
two breath feathers, while the other end of the same line ends in a 



Fig. 326—Double triangle; median trapezoid 


round dot with four radiating, straight lines. The triangles recall the 
butterfly symbol, the key pattern representing the head. 

In figure 326 there is a still more aberrant form of the W-shape 



Fig. 327—Double triangle; median rectangle 


design. The wings are folded, ending in triangles, and prolonged at 
their angles into projections to which are appended round dots with 
three parallel lines. The median portion, or that in the reentrant 



Fig. 328—Double compound triangle; median rectangle 


angle of the W, is a four-sided figure in which the triangle predomi¬ 
nates with notched edges. Figure 327 shows the same design with 
the median portion replaced by a rectangle, and in which the key 


















FEWKES] 


FOOD-BOWL DECORATIONS 


721 


pattern lias wholly disappeared from the wings. In figure 328 there 
are still greater modifications, but the symmetry about a median axis 
remains. The ends of the wings instead of being folded are expanded, 



Fiq. 329—Double triangle; median triangle 


and the three triangles formerly inclosed are now free and extended. 
The simple median rectangle is ornamented with a terrace pattern on 
its lower angles. 



Fig. 330—Double compound triangle 


Figure 329 shows a design in which the extended triangles are even 
more regular and simple, with triangular terraced figures on their 
inner edge. The median figure is a triangle instead of a rectangle. 



Fig. 331—Double rectangle; median rectangle 


Figure 330 shows the same design with modification in the position 
of the median figure, and a slight curvature in two of its sides. 

Somewhat similar designs, readily reduced to the same type as the 



Fig. 332—Double rectangle; median triangle 


last three or four which have been mentioned, are shown in figures 
331 and 332. The resemblances are so close that I need not refer to 
them in detail. The W form is wholly lost, and there is no resemblance 
17 ETH, pt 2-17 


t 


/ 



















722 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


to a bird, even in its most highly conventionalized forms. The median 
design in figure 331 consists of a rectangle and two triangles so arranged 
as to leave a rectangular white space between them. In figure 332 the 
median triangle is crossed by parallel and vertical zigzag lines. 



Fig. 333—Double triaiigle with crooks 


In the design represented in figure 333 there are two triangular fig¬ 
ures, one on each side of a median line, in relation to which they are 
symmetrical. Each triangle has a simple key pattern in the middle, 
and the line from which they appear to hang is blocked off with alter- 



Fig. 334—W shape figure; single line with feathers 


nating black and white rectangles. At either extremity of this line 
there is a circular dot from which extend four parallel lines. 

A somewhat simpler form of the same design is found in figure 334, 
showing a straight line above terminating with dots, from which extend 



Fig. 335—Compound rectangle, triangles, and feathers 


parallel lines, and two triangular figures below, symmetrically placed 
in reference to an hypothetical upright line between them. 

Figure 335 bears a similarity to the last mentioned only so far as the 
lower half of the design is concerned. The upper part is not syrnmet- 



Fig. 336—Double triangle 


rical, but no new decorative element is introduced. Triangles, frets, 
and terraced figures are inserted between two parallel lines which ter¬ 
minate in round dots with parallel lines. 

The design in figure 336 is likewise unsymmetrical, but it has two 
lateral triangles with incurved terrace and dentate patterns. The 
































BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 


SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. CLXVII 



GEOMETRIC ORNAMENTATION FROM AWATOBI 

































FEWKES] 


723 


FOOD-BOWL DECORATIONS 


foraieiwbite<i 1,1 &gme s37 - " itu *>■« ™t~d«eao n „ f 

two pointed appendages facing the hypothetical middle line. From 

f0r “' ot thes " Pointed designs, each of which is double, 
they hat e been interpreted as feathers. They closely resemble the tail 



Fig. 337—Double triangle and feathers 


feathers of bird figures on several bowls in the collection, as will be seen 
in several of the illustrations. 

Figure 338 is composed of two triangular designs fused at the greatest 



angles. The regularity of these triangles is broken by a square space 
at the fusion. At each of the acute angles of the two triangles there 
are circular designs with radiating lines, a commou motive on the 



Fig. 339—Triangle with terraced appendages 


exterior of food bowls. Although no new elements appear in figure 
338, with the exception of bracket marks, one on each side of a circle, 
the arrangement of the two parts symmetrically about a line parallel 



Fig. 340—Mosaic pattern 


with the rim of the bowl imparts to the design a unique form. The 
motive in figure 339 is reducible to triangular and rectangular forms, 
and while exceptional as to their arrangement, no new decorative fea¬ 
ture is introduced. 





























724 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


The specimen represented in figure 340 has as its decorative ele¬ 
ments, rectangles, triangles, parallel lines, and birds’ tails, to which 
may be added star and crosshatch motives. It is therefore the most 
complicated of all the exterior decorations which have thus far been 
considered. There is no symmetry in the arrangement of figures about 
a central axis, but rather a repetition of similar designs. 

The use of crosshatching is very common on the most ancient Pueblo 
ware, and is very common in designs on cliff-house pottery. This style 



13 M* *EL Ej 

Fiq. 341—Rectangles, stars, crooks, and parallel lines 


of decoration is only sparingly used on Sikyatki ware. The crosshatch¬ 
ing is provisionally interpreted as a mosaic pattern, and reminds one 
of those beautiful forms of turquois mosaic on shell, bone, or wood 
found in ancient pueblos, and best known in modern times in the square 
ear pendants of Hopi women. Figure 340 is one of the few designs 
having terraced figures with short parallel lines depending from them. 
These figures vividly recall the rain-cloud symbol with falling rain rep- 



Fig. 342—Continuous crooks 


resented by the parallel lines. Figure 341 is a perfectly symmetrical 
design with figures of stars, rectangles, and parallel lines. It may be 
compared with that shown in figure 340 in order to demonstrate how 
wide the difference in design may become by the absence of symmet¬ 
rical relationship. It has been shown in some of the previous motives 
that the crook sometimes represents a bird’s head, and parallel lines 
appended to it the tail-feathers. Possibly the same interpretation may 



Fig. 343—Rectangular terrace pattern 


be given to these designs in the following figures, and the jireseuce of 
stars adjacent to them lends weight to this hypothesis. 

An indefinite repetition of the same pattern of rectangular design is 
shown in figure 342. This highly decorative motive may be varied 
indefinitely by extension or concentration, and while it is modified in 
that manner in many of the decorations of vases, it is not so changed 
on the exterior of food bowls. 

















FEWKES] 


FOOD-BOWL DECORATIONS 


725 


There are a number of forms which I am unable to classify with the 
foregoing, none of which show any new decorative design. All possi¬ 
ble changes have been made in them without abandoning the elemental 
ornamental motives already considered. The tendency to step or ter¬ 
race patterns predominates, as exemplified in simple form in figure 



Fig. 344—Terrace pattern with parallel lines 


H 

343. In figure 344 there is a different arrangement of the same terrace 
pattern, and the design is helped out with parallel bauds of different 
length at the ends of a rectangular figure. A variation in the depth 
of color of these lines adds to the effectiveness of the design. This 
style of ornamentation is successfully used in the desigus represented 



Fig. 345—Terrace pattern 


in figures 345 and 346, in the body of which a crescentic figure in the 
black serves to add variety to a design otherwise monotonous. The 
two appendages to the right of figure 346 are interpreted as feathers, 
although their depart forms widely from that usually assumed by these 
designs. The terraced patterns are replaced by dentate margius in 


3 
t 

Fig. 346—Triangular pattern with feathers 

this figure, and there is a successful use of most of the rectangular and 
triangular designs. 

In the specimens represented in figures 347 and 348 marginal denta¬ 
tions are used. I have called the design referred to an S-form, which, 
however, owing to its elongation is somewhat masked. The oblique 
bar in the middle of the figure represents the body of the letter, the 
two extremities taking the forms of triangles. 

























726 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH ANN. 17 


So far as decorative elements are concerned the design in figure 349 
can be compared with some of those preceding, but it differs from them 
in combination. The motive in figure 350 is not unlike the ornamenta¬ 
tion of certain oriental vases, except from the presence of the terraced 



Fig. 347—S-pattern 

figures. In figure 351 there are two designs separated by an inclined 
break the edge of which is dentate. This figure is introduced to show 
the method of treatment of alternating triangles of varying depth of 
color and the breaks in the marginal bands or “lines of life.” One of 



Fig. 348—Triangular and terrace figures 


the simplest combinations of triangular and rectangular figures is 
shown in figure 353, proving how effectually the original design may 
be obscured by concentration. 

In the foregoing descriptions I have endeavored to demonstrate that, 



Fig. 349—Crook, terrace, and parallel lines 


notwithstanding the great variety of designs considered, the types 
used are very limited in number. The geometrical forms are rarely 
curved lines, and it may be said that spirals, which appear so constantly 
on pottery from other (and possibly equally ancient or older) pueblos 



Fig. 350—Triangles, squares, and terraces 


than Sikyatki, are absent in the external decorations of specimens 
found in the ruins of the latter village. 

Every student of ancient and modern Pueblo pottery has been 
impressed by the predominance of terraced figures in its ornamenta¬ 
tion, aud the meaning of these terraces has elsewhere been spoken of 


































BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 


SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. CLXVIII 



e 


/ 


GEOMETRIC ORNAMENTATION FROM AWATOBI 




























































































FEWKE8] 


FOOD-BOWL DECORATIONS 


727 


at some length. It would, I believe, be going too far to say that these 
step designs always represent clouds, as in some instances they are 
produced by such an arrangement of rectangular figures that no other 
forms could result. 

The material at hand adds nothing new to the theory of the evolu¬ 
tion of the terraced ornament from basketry or textile productions, so 



Fig. 351—Bifurcated rectangular design 

ably discussed by Holmes, Nordenskidld, and others. When the Sik- 
yatki potters decorated their ware the ornamentation of pottery had 
reached a high development, and figures both simple and complicated 
were used contemporaneously. While, therefore, we can so arrange 



Fig. 352—Lines of life and triangles 

them as to make a series, tracing modifications from simple to complex 
designs, thus forming a supposed line of evolution, it is evident that 
there is no proof that the simplest figures are the oldest. The great 
number of terraced figures and their use in the representation of 



Fig. 353—Infolded triangles 


animals seem to me to indicate that they antedate all others, and I see 
no reason why they should not have been derived from basketry pat¬ 
terns. We must, however, look to pottery with decorations less highly 
developed for evidence bearing on this point. The Sikyatki artists had 
advanced beyond simple geometric figures, and had so highly modified 
these that it is impossible to determine the primitive form. 
























728 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH.ANN. 17 


As I have shown elsewhere, the human hand is used as a decorative 
element in the ornamentation of the interior of several food bowls. It 
is likewise in one instance chosen to adorn the exterior. It is the only 
part of the human limbs thus used. Figure 354 shows the hand with 
marks on the palm probably intended to represent the lines which are 



Fig. 354—Human hand 

used in the measurement of the length of pahos or prayer-sticks. From 
between tbe index and the middle finger rises a line which recalls that 
spoken of in the account of the hand on the interior of the food bowl 
shown in plate cxxxvn. 



Fig. 355—Animal paw, limb, and triangle 


The limb of an animal with a paw, or possibly a human arm and hand, 
appears as a decoration on the outside of another food bowl, where it is 
combined with the ever-constant stepped figure, as shown in figure 355. 

PIGMENTS 

The ancient Sikyatki people were accustomed to deposit in their 
mortuary vessels fragments of minerals or ground oxides and carbon¬ 
ates, of different colors, used as paints. It thus appears evident that 
these substances were highly prized in ancient as in modern times, and 
it may be mentioned that the present native priests regard the pigments 
found iu the graves as so particularly efficacious in coloring their cere¬ 
monial paraphernalia that they begged me to give them fragments for 
that purpose. The green color, which was the most common, is an 
impure carbonate of copper, the same as that with which pahos are 
painted for ceremonial use today. Several shallow, saucer-like vessels 
contained yellow ocher, and others sesquioxide of iron, which afforded 
both the ancients and the moderns the red pigment called cuta , an 
^special favorite of the warrior societies. The inner surface of some of 
the bowls is stained with the pigments which they had formerly con¬ 
tained, and it was not uncommon to find several small paiut pots 
deposited in a single grave. The white used was an impure kaolin, 








BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 


SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. CLXIX 



a 



c 



ARROWSHAFT SMOOTHERS, SELENITE, AND SYMBOLIC CORN FROM 

SIKYATKI 











% 














• * 

























•• 




































































FKWKES] 


PIGMENTS-STONE OBJECTS 


729 


which was found both iu masses and in powdered form, and thei'e were 
uneai thed several disks ot this material which had been cut into definite 
shape as if for a special purpose. 

One of these disks or circular plates (figure 356) was found on the head 
of a skeleton. The rim is rounded, and the opposite faces are concave, 
with a perforation iu the middle. Other forms of this worked kaolin 
are spherical, oblong, or lamellar, sometimes more or less decorated on 
the outer surface, as shown iu plate clxxii, e. Another, shown iu 
/, ot the same plate, is cylindrical, and other fragments of irregular 
shapes were found. A pigment made of micaceous hematite was found 



Fig. 356—Kaolin disk (natural size) 


in one of the Sikyatki paint jars. This material is still used as color¬ 
ing matter by the Tusayan Indians, by whom it is called yayala , and 
is highly prized by the members of the warrior societies. 

STONE OBJECTS 

Almost every grave at Sikyatki contained stone objects which were 
found either iu the bowls or in the soil in the immediate neighborhood 
of the skeletons. Some of these implements are pecked or chipped, 
others are smooth—pebbles apparently chosen for their botryoidal 
shape, polished surface, or fancied resemblance to some animal or other 
form. 

Many of the smooth stones were probably simply polishing stones, 
used by the women in rubbing pottery to a gloss before it was fired. 
Others were charm stones such as are still employed in making med¬ 
icine, as elsewhere described. There were still other stones which, 
from their resemblance to animals, may have been personal fetishes. 
Among the unusual forms of stones found iu this association is a 
quartz crystal. As I have shown in describing several ceremonies still 
observed, a quartz crystal is used to deflect a ray of sunlight into 
the medicine bowl, and is placed in the center of a sand picture of 




730 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


the sun in certain rites called Powalawu; the crystal is also used in 
divining, and tor other purposes, and is highly prized by modern 
Tusayan priests. 

A botryoidal fragment of hematite found in a grave reminds me that in 
the so-called Antelope rock 1 at Walpi, around which the Snake dancers 
biennially carry reptiles in their mouths, there is in one side a niche in 
which is placed a much larger mass of that material, to which prayers 
are addressed on certain ceremonial occasions, and upon which sacred 
meal and prayer emblems are placed. 

One or two mortuary bowls contained fragments of stalactites appar¬ 
ently from the Grand cauyou of the Colorado or from some other 
locality where water is or has been abundant. 

The loose shaly deposit which underlies the Tusayan mesas contains 
many eepbalopod fossils, a collection of which was made in former 
years and deposited in the National Museum. Among these the most 
beautiful are small cephalopods called by the Hopi, koaitcoko. Among 
the many sacred objects in the tiponi baskets of the Lalakouti society, 
as described in my account 2 of the unwrapping of that fetish, there 
was a specimen of this ammonite; that the shell was preserved in this 
sacred bundle is sufficient proof that it is highly venerated. As a 
natural object with a definite form it is regarded as a fetish which is 
looked upon with reverence by the knowing ones and pronounced bad 
by the uninitiated. The occurrence of this fossil in one of the mortuary 
bowls is in harmony with the same idea and shows that it was regarded 
in a similar light by the ancient occupants of Sikyatki. 

But the resemblance of these aud other stones to animal fossils 2 is 
not always so remote as in the instances above mentioned. There was 
in one grave a single large fetish of a mountain lion, made of sand¬ 
stone (plate clxxii, b, c), in which legs, ears, tail, and eyes are repre¬ 
sented, aud the mouth still retains the red pigment with which it was 
colored, although there was no sign of paint on other parts of the 
body. This fetish is very similar to the one found at Awatobi, and is 
identical in form with those made by the Hopi at the present time. 

It was customary to bury in Sikyatki graves plates or fragments of 
selenite or mica, some of which are perforated as if for suspension, 
while others are in plain sheets (plate clxix, c ). 

Among the stone implements used as mortuary offerings which were 
found in the cemeteries, was one made of the same fine lithographic 
limestone as the so called tcamahia (plate clxxi, (j) which occur on the 
Antelope altar in the Snake ceremonies. The exceptional character of 
this fragment is instructive, and its resemblance to the finely polished 
stone hoes found in other ruins is very suggestive. 

There were found many disk shape stones, pecked on the periphery 
as if used in grinding pigment or in bruising seeds, aud spheroidal 


1 This pillar, so conspicuous in all photographs of Walpi, is commonly called the Snake rock. 

2 American Anthropologist, April, 1892. 

2 i failed to hnd out how the Hopi regard fossils. 






BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 


SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. CLXX 



a 


b 


CORN GRINDER FROM SIKYATKI 
































































































FEWKES] 


ARROWS AND SHAFT-POLISHERS 


731 


stones with a facet worn at one pole as if used for the same or a similar 
purpose (plate clxxi, ft, c). A few stone axes and hatchets were also 
taken from the graves; most of these are rude specimens of stone 
working, although one of them can hardly be excelled in any other col¬ 
lection. Many arrowpoiuts were found, but these are in no respect 
peculiar. They are made of many different kinds of stone, but those 
ot obsidian are the most numerous. They were generally found in 
numbers, sometimes in bowls. Evidently they had not been attached 
to shafts when buried, for no sign of the reeds remained. Arrowheads 
sewed into a bandoleer are still worn as insignia of rank by warriors, 
and it is probable that such was also true in the past, so that on inter¬ 
ment these arrowpoiuts might have been placed in the mortuary basin 
deposited by the side of the warrior, as indicative of his standing or 
rank, and the bandoleer or leather strap to which they were attached 
decayed during its long burial in the earth. Spearpoints of much 
coarser make and larger in size than the arrowheads were also found 
in the graves, and a rare knife, made of chalcedony, showed that the 
ancient, like the modern Hopi, prized a sharp cutting instrument. 

Among the many large stones picked up on the mounds of Sikyatki 
there was one the use of which has long puzzled me. This is a rough 
stone, not worked save in an equatorial groove. The object is too heavy 
to have been carried about, except with the utmost difficulty, and the 
probability of the former existence of a handle is out of the question. 
It has been suggested that this and similar but larger grooved stones 
might have been used as tethers for some domesticated animal, as the 
eagle or the turkey, which is about the only explanation I can suggest. 
Both of these creatures, aud (if we may trust early accounts) a quad¬ 
ruped about the size of a dog, were domesticated by the ancient Pueblo 
people, but I have found no survival of tetheriug in use to-dav. Eagles, 
however, are tied by the legs and not confined in corrals as at Zufii, 
while sheep are kept in stone inclosures. It is probable that this latter 
custom came with the introduction of sheep, and that these stones were 
weights to which the Sikyatki people tied by the legs the eagles and 
turkeys, the feathers of which play an important part in their sacred 
observances. 

Certain small rectangular slabs of stone have been found, with a 
groove extending across one surface diagonally from one angle to 
another (plate clxix, a, ft.) These are generally called arrowshaft pol¬ 
ishers, and were used to rub down the surface of arrowshafts or prayer- 
sticks. Several of these polishers were taken from Sikyatki graves, 
and oue or two were of such regular form that considerable care must 
have been used in their manufacture. A specimen from Awatobi is 
decorated with a bow and an arrow scratched on one side, and oue 
of dark basaltic rock evidently came from a distance. A number of 
metates aud mullers were found in the graves at Sikyatki. One of the 
best of the latter is shown in plate clxx. These stones are of different 



732 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


degrees of fineness, and vary from simple triangular slabs of flue sand¬ 
stone to very coarse lava. The specimen figured lias depressions on 
the sides to facilitate handling. 1 

Perhaps the most significant of all the worked stones found in the 
Sikyatki cemeteries were the flat slabs the edges of which near the 
surface of the soil marked the presence of the graves. These slabs 
may be termed headstones, but they have a far different meaning from 
those that bear the name of the deceased with which we are most 
familiar, for when they have any marking on their faces, it is not a 
totem of the dead, but a symbol of the rain-cloud, which is connected 
with ancestor worship. 

One of the best of these mortuary slabs has its edge cut in such a 
way as to give it a terraced outline, and on one face a similar terrace 
is drawn in black pigment. These figures are symbols of rain-clouds, 
and the interpretation of the use of this design iu graves is as follows: 

The dead, according to current Tusayan thought, become rain-cloud 
gods, or powerful intercessors with those deities which cause or send 
the rains. Hence, the religious society to which the deceased belonged, 
and the members of the clan who survive, place in the mortuary bowls, 
or in the left hand of their friend, the palio or prayer emblem for rain; 
hence, also, in prayers at interment they address the breath body of 
the dead as a Tcatcina , or rain god. These katcinns , as divinized ances¬ 
tors, are supposed to return to the villages and receive prayers for rain. 
In strict accord with this conception the rain-cloud symbol is placed, in 
some instances, on the slab of rock in the graves of the dead at Sik¬ 
yatki. It proves to me that the cult of ancestor worship, and the con¬ 
ception that the dead have power to bring needed rain, were recognized 
in Sikyatki when the pueblo was in its prime. One of these slabs is 
perforated by a small hole, an important fact, but oue for which I have 
only a fanciful explanation, namely, to allow the escape of the breath 
body. Elsewhere I have found many instances of perforated mortuary 
stone slabs, which will be considered in a report of my excavations iu 
189G. 

OBSIDIAN 

Many fragments of obsidian, varying in size, are found strewn over 
the surface of the majority of ancient ruins in Tusayan, and the quan¬ 
tity of this material on some mounds indicates its abuudance in those 
early habitations. This material must have been highly prized for 
knives, arrowpoints, and weapons of various kinds, as several of the 
graves contained large fragments of it, some more or less chipped, 
others in natural forms. The fact of its being deemed worthy of deposit 
in the graves of the Sikyatkians would indicate that it was greatly 
esteemed. I know of no natural deposit of obsidian near Sikyatki or 

■These objects were eagerly sought by the Hopi women who visited the camps at Awatobi and 
Sikyatki. 





BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 


SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. CLXXI 





STONE IMPLEMENTS FROM PALATKI, AWATOBI, AND SIKYATKI 











FEWKE8] 


ARTICLES OF ADORNMENT-PIPES 


733 


iu the province of Tusayan, so that the probability is that these frag¬ 
ments had been brought a considerable distance before they were buried 
in the earth that now covers the dead of the ancient pueblos. 

NECKLACES, GORGETS, AND OTHER ORNAMENTS 

The Sikyatki people buried their dead adorned with necklaces and 
other ornaments as when living. The materials most highly prized for 
necklaces were turquois and shell which were fashioned into beads, 
some of which were finely made. These necklaces did not differ from 
those now worn, and the shells employed were mostly marine varieties 
of the genus Pectunculus. The turquois beads are often as finely cut as 
any now worn, and their presence in the graves led to the only serious 
trouble which I had with my native workmen, as they undoubtedly 
appropriated many which were found. Some of these turquois beads are 
simply flat fragments, perforated at one end, others are well formed. 
Many skeletons had a single turquois near the mastoid process of the 
skull, showing that they had been worn as ear pendants. On the neck 
of one skeleton we found a necklace of many strands, composed of seg¬ 
ments of the leg bones of the turkey, stained green. There were other 
specimens of necklaces made of turkey bones, which were smoothly 
finished and apparently had not been stained. 

^Necklaces of perforated cedar berries were likewise found, some of 
them still hanging about the necks of the dead, and in one instance, a 
small saucer-like vessel (plate cxx, d) was filled with beads of this kind, 
as if the necklace had thus been deposited in the grave as a votive 
offering. 

For gorgets the Sikyatki people apparently prized slabs of lignite 
(plate clxxii, d) and plates of selenite. It was likewise customary to 
make small clay imitations of birds and shells for this and for other 
ornamental purposes; these, for the most part, however, were not found 
in the graves, but were picked up on the surface or in the debris within 
the rooms. 

The three forms imitating birds shown in plate clxxiii, g, h, i, are 
rude in character, and one of them is crossed by a black line from 
which depend parallel lines, representing falling rain; all of these 
specimens have a perforated knot on the under side for suspension, as 
shown in the figure between them. 

The forms of imitations of shells, in clay, of which examples are shown 
in plate clxxiii, j , k, l, are rude in character; they are often painted 
with longitudinal or vertical black lines, and have a single or double 
perforation for suspension. The shell imitated is probably the young 
Pectunculus , a Pacific-coast mollusk, with which the ancient Hopi were 
familiar. 

TOBACCO PIPES 

I have elsewhere mentioned that every modern Tusayan ceremony 
opens and closes with a ceremonial smoke, and it is apparent that pipes 
were highly prized by the ancient Sikyatkians. 



734 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


The form of pipe used in most ceremonials today has a bowl with its 
axis at right angles to the stem, but so far as I have studied ancient 
Pueblo pipes this form appears to be a modern innovation. 1 To deter¬ 
mine the probable ancient form of pipe, as indicated by the ritual, I 
will invite attention to one of the most archaic portions of the cere¬ 
monies about the altar of the Antelope priesthood, at the time of the 
Snake dance at Walpi: 2 

“The songs then ceased, and Wi-ki sent Ka-tci to bring him a light. 
Ka-tci went out, and soon returned with a burning corncob, while all 
sat silently awaiting Wi-ki’s preparation for the great 6-mow-uh smoke, 
which was one of the most sacred acts performed by the Antelope 
priests in these ceremonials. 

“The wu-ko-tco-no is a huge, stemless pipe, which has a large open¬ 
ing in the blunt end, and a smaller one in the pointed. It is live 
inches long, one inch in diameter at the large aperture, and its great¬ 
est circumference is seven and a half inches. The pipe is made of 
some black material, possibly stone, and as far as could be seen was 
not ornamented. The bowl had previously been filled with leaves 
carefully gathered from such places as are designated by tradition. 
In the subsequent smokes the ashes, “ dottle,” were saved, being 
placed in a small depression in the floor, but were not again put in the 
pipe. 

“Wi-ki took the live ember from Ka-tci and placed it in the large 
opening of the pipe, on the leaves which filled its cavity. He then 
knelt down and placed the pipe between the two ti-po-nis, so that the 
pointed end rested on the head of the large fetish, between the ears. 
Every one remained silent, and Wi-ki blew several dense clouds of 
smoke upon the sand altar, one after another, so that the picture was 
concealed. The smoke was made by blowing through the pipe, the fire 
being placed in the bowl next the mouth, and the whole larger end of 
the pipe was taken into the mouth at each exhalation. 

“At the San Juan pueblo, near Santa Fe, where I stopped on my 
way to Tusayan, I purchased a ceremonial headdress upon which sev¬ 
eral spruce twigs were tied. Wi-ki received some fragments of these 
with gratitude, and they formed one of the ingredients which were 
smoked in the great o-mow uh pipe. The scent of the mixture was 
very fragrant, and filled the room, like incense. The production of this 
great smoke-cloud, which is supposed to rise to the sky, and later 
bring the rain, ended the first series of eight songs. 

“Immediately after this event, Ha ha we filled one of the small- 
stemmed pipes lying near the fireplace with native tobacco, and after 
lighting it puffed smoke on the altar. He passed the pipe to Wi-ki, 
holding it near the floor, bowl foremost, as he did so, and exchanging 
the customary terms of relationship. Wi-ki then blew dense clouds of 

‘The tabular form of pipe was almost universal in the pueblo area, and I have deposited in the 
National Museum pipes of this kind from several ruins in the Rio Grande valley. 

2 Journal of American Ethnology and Archaeology, vol. iv, pp. 31,32,33. 






PAINT GRINDER, FETISH, KAOLIN DISKS, AND LIGNITE FROM SIKYATKI 














































































































FEWKES] 


USE OF PIPE BY ANTELOPE PRIESTS 


735 


smoke over the two ti-po-nis and on the sand picture. Ha-ha-we, mean¬ 
while, lit a second pipe, and passed it to Ko pe-li, the Snake chief, who 
enjoyed it in silence, indiscriminately puffing smoke on the altar, to the 
cardinal points, and in other directions. Ko-pe-li later gave his pipe to 
Ka-kap-ti, who sat at his right, and Wi-ki passed his to Na-syuu-'we ve, 
who, after smoking, handed the pipe to Kwa-a, who in turn passed it 
to Ka-tci, by whom it was given to HA-ha we. KA-tci, the last priest 
to receive it before it was returned to the pipe-lighter, smoked for a 
long time, and repeatedly puffed clouds of smoke upon the sand pic¬ 
ture. Meanwhile KA-kap ti had handed his pipe to HA ha-we, both 
exchanging terms of relationship and carefully observing the accom¬ 
panying ceremonial etiquette. Ha-ha we, as was his unvarying cus¬ 
tom, carefully cleaned the two pipes, and laid them on the floor by the 
side of the fireplace.'' 7 

The form of pipe used in the above ceremony is typical of ancient 
Pueblo pipes, several of which were found at Sikyatki. One of these, 
much smaller than the 6 mow-uh pipe, was made of lava, and bore 
evidence of use before burial. It is evident, however, that these 
straight pipes were not always smoked as above described. The most 
interesting pipes found at Sikyatki were more elongated than that 
above mentioned and were made of clay. Their forms are shown in 
plate Clxxiii, 6, c, d,f. One of these ( b ) is very smooth, almost glazed, 
and enlarged into two lateral wings near the mouth end, which is per¬ 
forated with a small hole. The cavity at the opposite end is large 
enough to hold sufficient for a good smoke, and shows evidence of 
former use. The whole median region of the exterior is formed by a 
collar incised with lines, as if formerly wrapped with fiber. In some of 
the modern ceremonials, as that of the Bear Puma dramatization in the 
Snake dance, a reed cigarette is used, ancient forms of which have been 
found in sacrificial caves, and there seems no doubt that this pipe is 
simply a clay form of those reeds. The markings on the collar would 
by this interpretation indicate the former existence of a small fabric 
wrapped about it. The two pipes shown in plate clxxiii, b, /, are 
tubular in shape, 1 highly polished, and on one of them (/) we see 
scratches representing the same feature as the collar of b , and probably 
made with the same intent. 

The fragment of a pipe shown in plate clxxiii, d, is interesting in 
the same connection. The end of this pipe is broken, but the stem is 
intact, and on two sides of the bowl there are elevations covered with 
crosshatching. The pipe is of clay and has a rough external surface. 

It is improbable that these pipes were always smoked as the icu-lco- 
tco-no of the Snake ceremony, but the smaller end was placed to the 
mouth, and smoke taken into the mouth and exhaled. It is customary 
in ceremonials now practiced, to wind a wisp of yucca about the stem 
of a short pipe, that it may not become too hot to hold in the hand. 


1 This form of pipe occurs over the whole pueblo area. 








736 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 



Fig. 357—Mortuary prayer-stick 
(natural size) 


This maybe a possible explanation 1 of the 
scratches on the sides of the ancient tube pipes 
from Sikyatki. 

PRAYER-STICKS 

One of the most important objects made in 
the secret ceremonials of the modern Pueblos 
is sacrificial in nature, and is called a paho 
or “ water wood,” which is used as an otter¬ 
ing to the gods (figure 357). These pahos 
are made of a prescribed wood, of length 
determined by tradition, and to them are tied 
appendages of symbolic meaning. They are 
consecrated by songs, about an altar, upon 
which they are laid, and afterward deposited 
in certain shrines by a special courier. 

In modern times the forms of these pahos 
differ very greatly, the shape depending ou 
the society which makes them, the god ad¬ 
dressed, and the purpose for which they are 
used, as understood by the initiated. Among 
many other uses they are sometimes mortuary 
in character, and are deposited in the graves 
of chiefs, as offerings either to the God of 
Death, or to other deities, to whom they may 
be presented by the shade or breath body of 
the deceased. This use of pahos is of ancient 
origin in Tusayan, as shown by the excava¬ 
tions at Sikyatki, where they were found in 
mortuary bowls or vases deposited by the re¬ 
latives or surviving members of the sacerdotal 
societies to which the deceased had belonged. 

This pre-Spanish custom in Tusayan was 
discovered in my excavations at Awatobi, but 
the prayer-sticks from that place were frag¬ 
mentary as compared with the almost perfect 
pahos from Sikyatki. These pahos are of many 
forms; 2 some of them are of considerable size, 
and the majority are of distinctive forms 
(plates clxxiv—clxxv). There are also 
many fragments, the former shapes of 
which could not be determined. When it is 
considered that these wooden objects with 


■Ancient cigarette reeds, found in sacrificial caves, have a small fragment of woven fabrio tied 
about them. 

s The so-called “implements of wood ” figured by Nordenskiold (“ The Cliff Dwellers of the Mesa 
Verde,” plate xiaij are identical with some of the pahos from Sikyatki, and are undoubtedly prayer- 
sticks. 











BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 


SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. CLXXIII 



PIPES, BELL, AND CLAY BIRDS AND SHELLS FROM AWATOBI AND SIKYATKI 















FEWKES] 


PRAYER-STICKS OR PAHOS 


737 


tlieir neat carvings were fashioned with stone implements, the high 
character of the work is very remarkable. They show, in several 
instances, the imprint of attached strings and feathers, portions of 
which still remain; also, in one instance, fragments of a pine needle. 
They are painted with green aud black mineral pigments, the former 
of which had undoubtedly done much to preserve the soft wood of 
which they were manufactured. As at the present day, cottonwood 
aud willow were the favorite prescribed woods for palios, and some of 
the best were made of pine. The forms of these ancient prayer offer - 
igs, as mentioned hereafter, differ somewhat from those of modern 
make, although in certain instances there is a significant resemblance 
between the two kinds. 

One of the most,striking instances of resemblance between the old 
and the new is the likeness of some of these ancient pahos to those now 
made by the Flute society, and if this resemblance is more than a 
coincidence, the conclusion that the present flute palio is a survival of 
the ancient form may be accepted. As adding weight to this theory it 
may be mentioned that traditionally the Flute people claim to be the 
ancient people of Tusayan, and possibly contemporaries, in that 
province, with the ancient inhabitants of Sikyatki. There is likewise 
a most suggestive resemblance between these pahos and certain similar 
sticks from cliff dwellings, and it is a belief, which I can not yet 
demonstrate as true, that kindred people, or the same sacerdotal socie¬ 
ties represented in cliff houses and in Sikyatki, manufactured ceremo¬ 
nial prayer offerings which are identical in design. Plate clxxiv, a, 
represents a double stick paly>, which closely resembles the prayer offer¬ 
ing of the modern Flute society. The two rods were found together 
and originally had been attached, as indicated by the arrangement of 
the impression of the string midway of their length. The stick of the 
left has a facet cut on one side, upon which originally three dots were 
depicted to represent the eyes and the mouth. This member of the 
paho was the female; the remaining stick was the male. There are 
two deep grooves, or ferules, cut midway of their length, a distinctive 
characteristic of the modern flute paho. Both components are painted 
green, as is still customary in prayer-sticks of this fraternity. The 
pahos shown in b, c, and d, are likewise ascribed to the same society, 
and differ from the first only in length. They represent female sticks 
of double flute pahos. The length of these prayer-sticks varies on 
different ceremonial days, and is determined by the distance of the 
shrines for which they are intended. The unit of measurement is the 
length of certain joints of the finger, aud the space between the tip of 
longest digit to certain creases in the palm of the hand. The length of 
the ancient Sikyatki pahos, ascribed to the Flute society, follows the 
same rule. 

Plate clxxiv, e,/, have the same ferules referred to in the descrip¬ 
tion above, but are of greater diameter. They are unlike any modern 
17 eth, pt 2-IS 



738 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


pabo except in this particular. In g is depicted a still larger prayer- 
stick, with two serrate incisions on each side of the continuation of the 
flattened facet. 

Specimens h to m are forms of pabos wliicb I can not identify. They 
are painted green, generally with black tips, round, flattened, and of 
small size. Figure n is a part of a pabo which closely resembles prayer- 
sticks found in the cliff bouses of Mesa Verde and San Juan valley of 
northern New Mexico. 

Numerous specimens of a peculiar razor-shape pabo were found, two 
of which are shown in plate clxxv, o, s. The pabo shown in figure d 
is flat on one side and rounded on the other, narrowing at one end, 
where it was probably continued in a shaft, and a hole is punctured at 
the opposite extremity, as if for suspension. It is barely possible that 
this may have been a whizzer or bull-roarer, such as are used at the 
present day to imitate the wind, and commonly carried by the per¬ 
former in a public dance who personifies the warrior. Figure t differs 
from the ordinary flute pabo in having five constrictions in the upper 
part, and in being continued into a very long shank. 

The best preserved of all the pabos from the Sikyatki graves are 
represented in u and v, both of which were found in the same mortuary 
bowl. They are painted with a thick layer of green pigment, and have 
shafts, which are blackened and placed in opposite directions in the 
two figures. Their general form may be seen at a glance. The lower 
surface of the object shown in u is perfectly flat, and the part repre¬ 
sented at the upper end is evidently broken off. This is likewise true 
of both extremities ot the object shown in v; it is also probable that 
it had originally a serrated end, comparable with that shown in c. A 
similar terraced extremity survives in the corn palio carried by the so- 
called Flute girls in the biennial celebrations of the Flute ceremonies 
in the modern Tusayan pueblos. 

I refer the pabo to the second group of sacrifices mentioned by Tylor, 1 
that of homage, “a doctrine that the gist of sacrifice is rather in the 
worshiper giving something precious to himself than in the deity 
receiving benefit. This may be called the abnegation theory, and its 
origin may be fairly explained by considering it as derived from the 
original gift theory.” 

While it is probably true that the Hopi barters his paho with the 
idea of receiving in return some desired gift, the main element is prob¬ 
ably homage, but there is involved in it the third and highest element 
of sacrifice, abnegation. It is a sacrifice by symbolism, a part for the 
whole. 

On this theory the query naturally is, what does a paho represent? 
While it is difficult to answer this question, I think a plausible sug¬ 
gestion can be made. It is a sacrifice by symbolic methods of that 
which the Hopi most prize, corn or its meal. 


■Primitive Culture, vol. II, p. 396. 



&UREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 


Seventeenth annual Report pl. clxxiv 



PAHOS OR PRAYER-STICKS FROM SIKYATKI 



















FEWKES] 


SYMBOLIC OFFERINGS-SHELL OBJECTS 


739 


In a simple prayer the sacrifice is a pinch of meal thrown on the 
fetish or toward it. This is an individual method of prayer, and 
the pinch of meal, his prayer bearer, the sacrifice. 

Y\ hen a society made its prayers this meal, symbolic of a gift of 
corn, is tied in a packet and attached to two sticks, one male, the other 
female, with prescribed herbs and feathers. Here we have the ordinary 
prayer-stick, varying in details but essentially the same, a sacrifice to 
the gods appropriately designated by prescribed accessories. 

Frequently this packet of meal may be replaced by a picture of an 
ear of corn drawn on a flat slat, the so called “corn paho” of the Flute 
maidens, 1 or we may have an ear of corn tied to the wooden slat. In 
the Mamzrau ceremony the women carry these painted slats in their 
hands, as I have elsewhere described. 2 It appears as if, in all these 
instances, there exists a sacrificial object, a symbolic offering of corn 
or meal. 

The constant appearance of the feather on the paho has suggested 
an interpretation of the prayer-plumes as symbolic sacrifices of birds 
on the theory of a part for the whole; we know that among the Nahua 
sacrifices of birds were common in many ceremonials. The idea of 
animal sacrifice, and, if we judge from legends, of human sacrifice, was 
not an unknown conception among the Pueblos. While it is possible 
that the omnipresence of the feather on the prayer-sticks may admit of 
that interpretation, to which it must be confessed the male and the 
female components in double pahos lend some evidence, 3 1 believe the 
main'object was, as above stated, an offering of meal, which constituted 
the special wealth of an agricultural people. 

MARINE SHELLS AND OTHER OBJECTS 

The excavations at Sikyatki did not reveal a large number of marine 
shells, although some of the more common genera used in the ancient 
pueblos were found. 

There were several fragments of Pectunculus cut into the form of 
wristlets, like those from the ruins on the Little Colorado which I have 
described. Two beautiful specimens of Oliva angulata, truncated at 
each pole, which occurred in one of the mortuary bowls, and a few coni¬ 
cal rattles, made of the spires of Conus, were taken from the graves; 
there were also a few fragments of an unknown Haliotis. All of the 
above genera are common to the Pacific, and nc doubt were obtained by 
barter or brought by migratory clans to Tusayan from the far south. 
One of the most interesting objects in Sikyatki food basins from the 
necropolis was a comparatively well preserved rattle of a rattlesnake. 
The Walpi Snake chief, who was employed by me when this was found 
and was present at the time it was removed from the earth, declared 


1 Journal of American Ethnology and Archaeology, Vol. n, p. 131. 

2 American Anthropologist , July, 1892. 

3 As stated in former pages, there is some paleographic evidence looking in that direction. 




740 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 189n 


[ETH. ANN. 17 


tliat, according to the legends, there were no Snake people living at 
Sikyatki when it was destroyed, but the discovery of the snake rattle 
shows that the rattler was not without reverence there, even if not in 
the house of his friends, and some other explanation may be suggested 
to account for this discovery. There are evidences that the ancient 
Hopi, like certain Yuman tribes, wore a snake's rattle as an ornament 
for the neck, in which case the rattle found in the Sikyatki food basin 
may have been simply a votive offering, and in no way connected with 
ceremonial symbolism. 

Among many other mortuary offerings was one which was particu¬ 
larly suggestive. This specimen represented in plate clxix, e, is made 
of unbaked clay, and has a reticulated surface, as if once incrusted 
with foreign objects. The Hopi who were at work for me declared 
that this incrustation had been composed of seeds, and that the pits 
over the surface of the clay cone were evidence of their former existence. 
They identified this object as a “corn mound,” and reminded me that 
a similar object is now used in the Poicamu , Lalakonti, and certain other 
ceremonies. I have elsewhere mentioned the clay corn mound incrusted 
with seeds of various kinds in a desci’iptiou of the altar of the last- 
meutioned ceremony. These corn mountains ( kd-ii-tii'-kwi ) are made in 
the November ceremony called the Na-ac-nai-ya , as described in my 
account of those rites from which I quote 1 — 

“The Td-tau-kya-niu were very busy in their kib-va. Every member 
was shelling corn of the different colors as if on a wager. Each man 
made a figure of moist clay, about four or five inches across the base. 
Some of these were in the form of two mamirne, and there were also 
many wedge and cone forms, in all of which were embedded corn ker¬ 
nels, forming the cloud and other of the simpler conventional figures 
in different colors, but the whole surface was studded as full as pos¬ 
sible with the kernels. Each man brought down his own po-o-tas 
(tray), on which he sprinkled prayer-meal, and set his kd-ii-tii'-kwi (corn 
mountain) upon it. He also placed ears of corn on the tray.” 

These corn mountains were carried by the Td-tau-kya-mu priesthood 
during an interesting ceremony which I have thus described: 2 

“ The whole line then passed slowly along the front of the village 
sideways, facing the north, and singing, and all the women came out 
and helped themselves to the clay molds and the ears of corn borne 
by the Td-tau-kya-mu , bestowing many thanks upon the priests.” 

The fragment of polished stone shown in plate clxix, <7, is perforated 
near the edge for suspension, and was found near the aural orifice of a 
skull, apparently indicating that it had been used as a pendant. With 
this object, many rude arrowpoints, concretions of stone, and the kaolin 
disk mentioned above were also found. Small round disks of pottery, 
with a median perforation, were not common, although sometimes 
present. They are identified as parts of primitive drills. 


1 Journal of A merican Folk-Lore , vol. v, no. xviii, p. 213. 

2 Op. cit.. p. 214. 



FF.WKES] 


ABSENCE OF CAUCASIAN EVIDENCES 


741 


No object made of metal was found at Sikyatki, nor is there any evi¬ 
dence that the ancient people of that pueblo ever saw the Spaniards or 
used any implement of their manufacture. While negative evidence 
can hardly be regarded as a safe guide to follow, so far as knowledge of 
copper is concerned, it is possible that the people of ancient Tusayan 
pueblos, in their trading expeditions to southern Arizona, may have 
met races who owned small copper bells and trinkets of metal. I can 
hardly believe, however, that the Tusayan Indians were familiar with 
the art of tempering copper, and even if objects showing this treatment 
shall be found hereafter in the ruins of this province it will have to be 
proved that they were made in that region, and not brought from the 
far south. 

No glazed pottery showing Spanish influence was found at Sikyatki, 
but there can hardly be a doubt that the art of glazing pottery was 
practiced by the ancestors of the Tusayan people. The modern potters 
of the East Mesa never glaze their pottery, and no fragment of glazed 
ware was obtained from the necropolis of Sikyatki. 

PERISHABLE CONTENTS OF MORTUARY FOOD BOWLS 

It is the habit of the modern Tusayan Indians to deposit food of 
various kinds on the graves of their dead. The basins used for that 
purpose are heaped up with paper-bread, stews, and various delicacies 
for the breath-body of the deceased. Naturally from its exposed posi¬ 
tion much of this food is devoured by animals or disappears in other 
ways. There appears excellent evidence, however, that the mortuary 
food offerings of the ancient Sikyatkians were deposited with the body 
and covered with soil and sometimes stones. 

The lapse of time since these burials took place has of course caused 
the destruction of the perishable food substances, which are found to be 
simple where any sign of their former presence remains. Thin films 
of interlacing rootlets often formed a delicate network over the whole 
inner surface of the bowl. Certain of the contents of these basins in 
the shape of seeds still remain; but these seeds have not germinated, 
possibly on account of previous high temperatures to which they have 
been submitted. A considerable quantity of these contents of mor¬ 
tuary bowls were collected and submitted to an expert, the result of 
whose examination is set forth in the accompaning letter: 

U. S. Department of Agriculture, Division of Botany, 

Washington, D. C., March 25, 1896. 

Dear Dr Fewkes: Having made a cursory examination of the samples of sup¬ 
posed vegetable material sent by you day before yesterday, collected at Sikyatki, 
Arizona, in supposed prehistoric burial places, I have the following preliminary 
report to make: 

No. 156247. A green resinous substance. I am unable to say whether or not this 
is of vegetable origin. 

No. 156248. A mass of fibrous material intermixed with sand, the fibers consisting 
in part of slender roots, in part of the hair ot some animal. 


742 


EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 


[eth. anx. 17 


No. 156249. This consists of a mixture of seed with a small amount of sand pres¬ 
ent. The seeds are, in about the relative order of their abundance, (a) a leguminous 
shiny seed of a dirty olive color, possibly of the genus Parosela (usually known as 
Datea) ; (6) the black seed shells, flat on one side and almost invariably broken, of 
a plant apparently belonging to the family Malvaceae; (c) large, flat, nearly black 
achenia, possibly of a Coreopsis, bordered with a narrow-toothed wing; (d) the thin 
lenticular utricles of a Carex; ( e ) the minute black, bluntly trihedral seeds of some 
plaut of the family Polygonaceae, probably an Eriogonum. The majority of these seeds 
have a coating of fine sand, as if their surface bad originally been viscous; (/) a 
dried chrysalis bearing a slight resemblance to a seed. 

No. 156250. This bottle contains the same material as No. 156249, except that no 
larva; aro found, but a large, plump, browuish, lenticular seed 4 mm. in diameter, 
doubtless the seed of a Croton. 

No. 156251. A thin fragment of matter consisting of minute roots of plants par¬ 
tially intermixed on one surface with sand. 

No. 156252. This consists almost wholly of plant rootlets and contains a very 
slight amount of sand. 

No. 156254. This consists of pieces of rotten wood through which had grown the 
rootlets of plants. The wood, upon a microscopical examination, is shown to be that 
of some dicotyledonous tree of a very loose aud light texture. The plant rootlets in 
most cases followed the large ducts that run lengthwise through the pieces of wood 
and take up the greater part of the space. 

No. 156255. Tiie mass contained in this bottle is made up of (a) grains, contained 
in their glumes or husks, of some grass, probably Oryzopsis membranacea ; ( b ) what 
appears to be the minute spherical spore cases of some microscopical fungus. The 
spore cases have a wall with a shiny browu covering, or apparently with this cover¬ 
ing worn oft’ aud exhibiting an interior white shell. Within this is a very large 
number of spherical spore-like bodies of a uniform size; (c) a few plant rootlets. 

No. 156256. The material in this bottle is similar to that in 156255 except that the 
amount of rootlets is greater, the grass seeds are of a darker color, seemingly some¬ 
what more disorganized, and somewhat more slender in form, and that the spore 
cases seem to be entirely wanting. 

No. 156257. The material in this bottle is similar to that in No. 156249, contain¬ 
ing the seeds numbered a, b, c, and d mentioned under that number, besides a greater 
amount of plant rootlets and some fragments of corncob. 

No. 156258. This consists almost entirely of plant rootlets and sand. 

No. 156259. This consists chiefly of the leaves of some coniferous tree, either an 
Abies ora Pseudotsuga. 

All the 6eeds with the exception of those of the leguminous plant are dead and 
their seed-coats rotten. The leguminous seeds are still hard and will be subjected 
to a germination test. 1 

For a specific and positive identification of these seeds it will be necessary either 
lor a botanist to visit the region from which they came or to have at his disposal a 
complete collection of the plants of the vicinity. Under such conditions he could 
by process of exclusion identify the seeds with an amount of labor almost infinitely 
less than would be required in their identification by other means. 

Very sincerely yours, 


Frederick V. Coville, Botanist. 


1 They failed to germinate. 



APPENDIX 


The following list introduces the numbers by which the specimens 
illustrated in this memoir are designated in the catalog of the United 
States National Museum. Each specimen is also marked with a field 
catalog number, the locality in which it was found, and the name of the 
collector: 


Plate cxi. 
cxii. 

CXIII. 

cxiv. 

cxix. 

cxx. 

cxxi. 

CXXII. 
CXX III. 
CXXIV. 

cxxv. 

CXX VI. 
CXX VII. 
CXXVIII. 
CXXIX. 

cxxx. 

CXXXI. 

CXXXII. 

CXXXIII. 

CXXXIV. 

CXXXV. 
CXXXVI. 
CXXXVII. 
CXXXVIII. 
CXXXIX. 
CXL. 
CXLI. 
CXLII. 
CXLIII. 
CXLI V. 
CXLV. 
CXLVI. 
CXLVU. 
CXLVIII. 
CXLIX. 
CL. 
CLI. 
CLII. 
CLIII. 
CLIV. 


a, 155895; b, 
a, 155875; b, 
a, 155992; b, 
a-g, 156018; 
a, 155806; b, 
a, 155867; b, 
a, 155694; b, 
a, 155702; b, 
a, 155711; b, 
a, 155674; b, 
a, 155750; b, 
a, 155700; b, 
a, 155718; b, 
a, 155745; b, 
a, 155467; b, 
a, 155474; b, 
a, 155758; b, 
a, 155482; b, 
a, 155614; b, 
a, 155570; b, 
a, 155692; b, 
a, 155687; b, 
a, 155488; b, 
a, 155498; b, 
a, 155524; b, 
a, 155529; b, 
a, 155501; b, 
a, 155712; b, 
a, b, 155690. 
a, b, 155689. 
a, 155717; b, 
a, 155538; b, 


155897; c, 
155996; c, 
155913; c, 
h, 156131; 
155841 
155866 
155698 
155684 
155703 
155683 
155753 
155682 
155714 
155744 
155462 
155475 
155773 
155483 
155757 
155597 
155681 
155737 
155450 
155490 
155528 
155489 
155503 
155693 


155898; d, 155896; e, 155900; f, 155916. 
155902; d, 155996; e, 155997. 

1559fl; d, 455994; e, 155993. 
i, 156091; j, 156018. 

155832; d, 155678; e, 155820; f, 155838. 
155871; d, 155856; e, 155861; /, 155460. 
155719. 

155688. 

155707; d, 155673. 


c, 155751; d, 155752; e, 155749; /, 155747. 


155723; d, 155691. 

155746; d, 155735; e, 155734; f, 155733; g, 155736. 
155463; d, 155464; e, 155466; f, 155465.. 

155477; d, 155484; e, 155473; f, 155476. 

155768; d, 155771; e, 155546; f, 155764. 

155481; d, 155480; e, 155479; f, 155485. 

155502; d, 155772; e, 155758; f, 155781. 

155567; d, 155507; e, 155575; /, 155505. 

155695. 

155468; d, 155732; e, 155776; /, 155740. 

155492; d, 155500; e, 155499; f, 155494. 

155491; d, 155523; e, 155527; f, 155522. 

155540; d, 155541; e, 155606; /, 155410. 

155509; d, 155511; e, 155510; /, 155512. 

155756; d, 155636; e, 155697. 


155696. 

155508; c, 155802; d, 155537; e, 155487; /, 155653. 


a, 155493; b, 155497; c, 155602; d, 155504; e, 155608; f, 155495. 

a, 155556; b, 155408; c, 155545; d, 155548; e, 155544; J, 155542. 

a, 155554; b, 155549; c, 155573; d, 155607; e, 155572; f, 155581. 

a, 155565; b, 155519; c, 155518; d, 155569; e, 155551; /, 155574. 

a, 155535; b, 155532; c, 155539; d, 155526; e, 155613; /, 155615. 

a, 155555; 6, 155547; c, 155571; d, 155553; e, 155536; f, 155521. 

a, 155558; b, 155564. 

a, 155560; b, 155568. 


743 



I 


H77 9*? 


~C,. 

L 3 — (0 <3 i ' 


744 APPEND IX [eth. am*. 17 

Plate clv. a, 155543; b, 155557. 

CLVi. a, 155562; b, 155561; c, 155562; d, 155796; e, 155601; f, 155588. 

CLvn. a, 155531; b, 155530; c, 155525; d, 155585; e, 155563; /, 155552. 

clviii. a, 155628; b, 155742; c, 155632; d, 155633; e, 155587; f, 155634. 

clix. a, 155583; b, 155598; c, 155516; d, 155629; e, 155590; f, 155520. 

clx. a, 155577; b, 155576; c, 155622; d, 155594; e, 155647; /, 155654. 

clxi. a, 155642; b, 155506; c, 155517; d, 155472; e, 155589; f, 155600. 

clxii. a, 155637; b, 155618; c, 155643; d, 155621; e, 155534; f, 155533. 

CLXiii. a, 155611; b, 155612. 

Clxiv. a, 155610; b, 155609. 

clx v. a, 155593; b, 155592. 

clx vi. a, 155641; b, 155616; c, 155617; rf, 155619; e, 155584; /, 155640. 

CLXVii. a, 155877; b, 155878; c, 155892; d, 155882; e, 155890; f, 155881. 

clx vin. a, 155876; b, 155891; c, 155884; d, 155914; e, 155940; f, 155880. 

Ci.xix. a, 156095; b, 156098; c, 156175; d, 156174; e, 156154; /, 156065. 

clxx. a, b, 156227. 

clxxi. a, 156270; b, c, 156303; e, 156199; f, 156043. 

CLXXII. a, 156042; b, 156169; c, 156169; d, 156170; e, 156184; /, 156164. 

CLXX in. a, 155999; b, 155154; c, 156128; d, 156131; e, f, 1561 0; g, 156010; h-l, 
156130. 

clxx iv. a, 156191; b, c, 156183; d, 156185; e-g, 156183; h-j, 156194; k, 156180; 
l,m, 156191; n, 156182. 

clxx v. o, 156188; p, 156185; q, 156191; r, 156186; s, 156180; t, 156188; «, 156181; 
v, 156179; w, 156187. 





























































































